The former top lawyer in the Israeli military has been arrested, as a political showdown deepens over the leaking of a video that allegedly shows severe abuse of a Palestinian detainee by Israeli soldiers.
Maj Gen Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned as the Military Advocate General of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) last week, saying that she took full responsibility for the leak.
On Sunday, the story took a darker turn when she was reported as missing, with police mounting an hours-long search for her on a beach north of Tel Aviv.
She was subsequently found alive and well, police said, but was then taken into custody.
The fallout from the leaked video is intensifying by the day. Broadcast in August 2024 on an Israeli news channel, the footage shows reserve soldiers at the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel taking aside a detainee, then surrounding him with riot shields to block visibility while he was allegedly beaten and stabbed in the rectum with a sharp object. The detainee was subsequently treated for severe injuries.
Five reservists were charged with aggravated abuse and causing serious bodily harm to the detainee. They have denied the charges and have not been named.
The leaked video incident has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over military conduct in Israel, drawing stark divides between right-wing politicians who view the leak as a defamation of the military and left-wing advocates who consider it a necessary step towards accountability for alleged abuses.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incident as one of the most severe public relations crises for the state since its establishment, echoing sentiments expressed by several members of the ruling coalition.
While a criminal investigation into the leak is underway, the broader implications of this incident on Israel's military policy and political landscape remain to be seen.
