Top IDF Lawyer Arrested in Detainee-Abuse Video Leak
- The Colloquium
- 2h
- 2 min read
By Molly Lukas
On November 2nd, 2025, Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, former chief legal officer of the Israel Defense Forces, was reported missing before being located and arrested in an investigation into the unauthorized release of a classified video. Two days earlier, she had resigned after acknowledging she approved the leak, which shows Israeli personnel beating and stripping a bound Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military facility. Military-court filings later described the detainee’s injuries as severe, including a rectal perforation and broken ribs. Five soldiers appearing in the footage have since been charged with aggravated abuse and causing serious bodily harm.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed the leak itself, not the alleged abuse, as the central offense: “The incident in Sde Teiman caused enormous damage to the image of the State of Israel and the IDF,” Netanyahu continued. “It may be the worst public relations disaster Israel has ever faced. I don’t recall a case with such concentrated intensity. This demands an independent, external investigation, and I expect one to be carried out.”
The arrest of a senior legal officer comes as rights groups continue to document concerns about detainee treatment in Israeli facilities. Human Rights Watch reported in 2024 that Israeli forces had “for months” allowed the circulation of images and videos depicting Palestinians in “dehumanising” conditions, while Amnesty International has described “horrifying cases of torture and degrading treatment” and noted that many incidents remain uninvestigated. Tomer-Yerushalmi has said she approved the leak to support the integrity of the military’s legal process. Her detention places renewed attention on how the Israeli authorities address both alleged misconduct and the disclosure of such material.
Against the backdrop of rising civilian casualties in Gaza and mounting international pressure, the episode underscores a deeper challenge: whether Israel’s institutions can maintain legitimacy while elevating narrative control over transparency. The answer will determine far more than the fate of a single legal officer.
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