The Israel Police on Tuesday announced the conclusion of the investigation of former military advocate-general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi regarding the leak of CCTV footage from the Sde Teiman detention facility.
Following a briefing with the head of investigations and the probe team, Police Commissioner Daniel Levi instructed the force’s legal adviser to update Justice Minister Yariv Levin's legal adviser on facts relevant to potential conflict-of-interest questions, and recommended appointing a senior external professional to review the case, according to a police statement.
Levi has announced that he has decided to adopt the position of the High Court of Justice to wait until the arrival of the Ministry of Justice legal adviser regarding a conflict of interest suspicion. He has determined that the investigation evidence of the Sde Teiman case will not be transferred to the Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, Maariv reported.
The waiting goal is to create a possibility of transferring the investigation's findings to an external body, as decided by the High Court.
The Israel Police explained in its statement that, since the Sde Teiman case is of high public sensitivity, "the Commissioner believes it is appropriate to allow an additional senior professional authority, external to the police, to review the entirety of the investigative actions carried out, as is customary in investigations of this type and as determined in a High Court of Justice ruling. Such an authority, it should be noted, has not yet been appointed."
The Police Commissioner met with the head of the Investigations and Intelligence Division and with the investigation team, who reviewed before him the findings that arose in the case, Walla reported.
Israel Police has declared that, "The Commissioner reviewed various fundamental issues and received the necessary explanations from the investigative team. It should be noted that, contrary to inaccurate reports, the Police Commissioner did not interfere in the investigative work."
It concluded, "In accordance with the opinion to be issued by the legal adviser of the Ministry of Justice, the investigative material will be transferred to an authorized review body, external to the police, which will be able to examine the investigation’s findings and the continuation of proceedings in the case, including the need for additional investigative steps, the summoning of additional witnesses and suspects, or alternatively, the filing of indictments against suspects found to be relevant."
The investigation into MAG Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi's case started after the Sde Teiman incident in 2024, developing into a deep national case into the IDF's actions regarding dealing with Palestinian detainees.
Tomer-Yerushalmi Sde Teiman leak
The investigation into Tomer-Yerushalmi stems from a July 2024 incident at the Sde Teiman detention facility, in which IDF reservists were suspected of severely abusing a Palestinian detainee from Gaza. The alleged assault, which occurred during the early months of the war, was investigated by the Justice Ministry's Police Investigation Department (PID) and later led to indictments against several soldiers.
The case drew heightened public attention about a month later, when video footage documenting the alleged abuse was leaked to the media and aired by television outlets, despite an active investigation and ongoing legal proceedings. The publication of the footage intensified political backlash against the military prosecution, with coalition lawmakers accusing the IDF legal system of selectively targeting soldiers and undermining morale during wartime.
In response to the leak, a separate criminal investigation was opened in late 2024 to determine how the footage reached the media and whether its release violated confidentiality obligations or constituted an abuse of authority. As part of that probe, investigators examined decisions made within the Military Advocate General’s Office regarding access to and handling of the material.
Tomer-Yerushalmi later acknowledged that she had approved the release of the footage, arguing that the decision was intended to counter misinformation circulating about the case and to demonstrate that the IDF was taking credible action. The admission placed the sitting MAG at the center of the leak investigation - an unprecedented development given the office’s role as the military’s chief prosecutorial authority.
Following the disclosure, Tomer-Yerushalmi stepped down from her post, and law enforcement authorities continued examining whether the authorization amounted to a criminal offense or fell within prosecutorial discretion. As of now, the investigation remains ongoing, with no final determinations announced regarding potential charges.