Israel’s former military advocate general, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, was hospitalized in Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital following a medical incident on Sunday morning.
N12 News reported that Tomer-Yerushalmi tried to swallow around 20 sleeping pills and is expected to be hospitalized overnight. A hospital spokesperson confirmed to Israeli media that Tomer-Yerushalmi is conscious.
"She tried to commit suicide; her life is not rosy," Police Commissioner Daniel Levy said, adding that Tomer-Yerushalmi's reported transgressions "must be investigated."
“It’s true, she committed an offense, and we are investigating. She has an influence on what the army looks like, on what the soldiers look like, and we send our children into a system in which they must feel safe," he added.
Following the event, the Israel Police said it would tighten the restrictions on her house arrest. The police are expected to add a travel ban until the end of the year to the terms and require Tomer-Yerushalmi to surrender her passport.
This incident would mark Tomer-Yerushalmi's second supposed suicide attempt since she resigned from her role due to her supposed involvement in the Sde Teiman leak scandal.
A source familiar with the details told N12 that it is “very possible that the former military advocate general, through her attorney, will request a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether she is fit to stand trial, after allegedly twice attempting to harm herself. One attempt was at Hof HaTzuk, and the second was in her bed during the night.”
When asked by N12 if the attempt was a "false display" by Tomer-Yerushalmi to ease her place in the investigation, the source did not rule out the possibility.
“We are no longer taking any chances. We want to protect her as well as the continuation of the investigation," a separate source familiar with the details told N12.
Former IDF top lawyer released to house arrest
The incident follows a recent suspected suicide attempt that police believe was part of an attempt to destroy her cellular phone.
The police have appealed to the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court to add to the restrictions and conditions of Tomer-Yerushalmi's release, prohibiting her from leaving the country and requiring her to surrender her passport.
Tomer-Yerushalmi, who recently resigned as the IDF's top legal officer, is accused of fraud, breach of trust, abuse of office, obstruction of justice, and unlawful disclosure of classified material in what has become known as the Sde Teiman leak scandal.
She was released to house arrest on Friday after a court ruling allowed her to remain at home for ten days under court supervision.
The investigation centers not only on the leak itself but also on possible obstruction of justice and other related offenses.
The video at the center of the case shows alleged abuse of a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military detention facility.
The Palestinian, whose name has not been publicly released, returned to Gaza on October 13 when Israel freed hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as part of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Five IDF reservists from the Force 100 Military Police unit were indicted in February for assault and causing severe injury.
Honenu, a legal aid organization representing two of the reservists, called for the charges to be dropped.
The Sde Teiman facility, established in southern Israel after the outbreak of the Gaza war, has held more than 1,000 detainees from Gaza suspected of involvement in terrorist activity.