Israeli state security minister Ben-gervill said Wednesday that police had arrested former military chief prosecutor Yfat Tomer-yerushalmi. Agence france-presse reported that earlier, she was suspected of leaking a video of soldiers ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees, caused a scandal.
Speaking at a regular cabinet Benjamin Netanyahu on the 2nd, the Prime Minister said that the video of the mistreatment of Palestinian detainees at the Stetman Military Detention Center in Israel had been leaked, has caused “Enormous reputational damage” to the country, its Israel Defense Forces and its soldiers, calling it “One of the worst public relations crises in the history of the Israeli state” and calling for an independent and impartial investigation, and look forward to the effective conduct of the investigation.
Tomel Yerushalmi reportedly admitted that she had approved the release of a video of torture by Israeli soldiers last August, and then announced her resignation on October 31, and said she took full responsibility for the leak. There were fears that Tomel Yerushalmi might commit suicide after her family reported her missing late Sunday, the Israel Times said. Police launched a massive search operation, using helicopters and flares, and eventually found Tomel Yerushalmi on a beach in central Israel, but her mobile phone was not found.
Yerushalmi, former chief military prosecutor of the Israeli army, Source: foreign media
The report said that hours after the incident, the police announced that they had arrested him, and that another former military chief prosecutor, Matan Solomosh, was also detained. The two were accused of”Leaking secrets and obstructing justice.” Is scheduled to be taken to the district court to apply for an extension of detention.
According to an Israeli newspaper, “Jerusalem Post” reported on the 3rd, Ben-gerville and Y?Q?BI, director of the Israeli prison administration, decided to strengthen the prison management of Tomel Yerushalmi, including the use of additional security and video surveillance.
In August, Israeli Channel 12 released a video 2024 that showed Israeli soldiers taking a blindfolded Palestinian detainee, surrounding him and shielding him with shields, they then committed illegal acts of violence. The Israeli military said at the time that five people had been arrested on suspicion of sexual abuse. The video was picked up by several media outlets and sparked international outrage.
The arrest of Tomel Yerushalmi and her involvement in the leaks have also provoked a backlash at home. The BBC says the Stetman incident has been a source of tension between Israel’s right and left.
Haaretz reported that a Likud spokesman and a number of right-wing lawmakers had targeted the justice system and the Attorney General, accusing them of failing to act quickly and allowing leaks to evade investigation. Some on the far right have gone so far as to publicly call for the immediate arrest of the attorney-general and see the disappearance of Tomel Shalmi as an “Attempt to manipulate public opinion”.
The opposition sees the incident as a symbol of Israel’s deteriorating political environment. The Israel Times reported that several opposition figures had attacked political incitement and extremist rhetoric against Tomel Yerushalmi as hitting a “Red line between political violence and social division”, and compare the current assault on her to the political climate before the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin 30 years ago. The Times of Israel reported that, “30 years after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, this practice of labelling ‘traitors’ and inciting political violence continues,” democratic leader Yayl Golan wrote on social media platforms. It will only stop when the agitators are removed from power.”
Haaretz commented that the video leak could help the Benjamin Netanyahu continue its campaign against Israel’s core democratic system. The incident has been used by Benjamin Netanyahu forces to launch a full-scale criticism of the justice system and to renew calls for the dismissal of the attorney-general, Baharav Miyala. And some political officials are trying to block an investigation into the abuses, even saying any investigation would be a “Bloody slander” against the Israel Defense Forces. “The whole incident threatens to undermine far more than just the career of a senior official. It threatens to destabilise Israel’s entire democratic norms and institutions.”.