Overview
- Yifat Tomer‑Yerushalmi admitted approving the 2024 release of surveillance footage, resigned, briefly went missing before being found on a Tel Aviv beach, and is now held in a women’s prison with detention extended until Wednesday.
- Israeli media report former chief military prosecutor Col. Matan Solomesh was also detained, and investigators are seeking a missing cellphone believed to hold evidence as Tomer‑Yerushalmi reportedly told police she does not remember what happened to it.
- The leaked video shows soldiers pulling a Palestinian detainee aside at Sde Teiman before an alleged assault; five reservists were indicted over severe injuries detailed by prosecutors and medical staff.
- The detainee featured in the footage was released to Gaza last month in a prisoner‑hostage exchange, raising questions about evidence and the viability of future testimony in the military cases.
- Political pressure has intensified as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labeled the leak Israel’s worst public‑relations blow, while investigators say multiple legal officials are under scrutiny and an operational affairs prosecutor has been suspended over suspected information leaks.