The Israel Police on Tuesday announced the conclusion of the investigation into 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 police’s legal adviser to update Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s legal adviser on facts relevant to potential conflict-of-interest issues.
Levi recommended appointing a senior external professional to review the case, according to a police statement.
The police commissioner said that he decided to adopt the High Court of Justice’s position of waiting for the Justice Ministry’s legal adviser’s opinion on a suspected conflict of interest issue.
Levi has determined that the investigative evidence in the Sde Teiman case will not be transferred to Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara in the meantime, Maariv reported.
The goal of the pause is to enable the transfer of the investigation’s findings to an external body, as decided by the High Court.
According to the Israel Police, 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 nature and as determined in a High Court ruling.”
“Such an authority,” they added, “has not yet been appointed.”
Prior to reaching a decision concerning how to progress, the police commissioner met with the head of the investigation team, along with other members, Walla reported.
The Israel Police added 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.”
“In accordance with the opinion to be issued by the legal adviser of the Justice Ministry, 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,” the police said.
“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,” are some of the elements that will need to be evaluated, the police continued.
Following the Sde Teiman leak incident in 2024, an investigation into Tomer-Yerushalmi was launched, developing into a large national case into the IDF’s actions regarding dealing with Palestinian detainees.
Tomer-Yerushalmi Sde Teiman leak
The investigation into the now former MAG stemmed 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.
This 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 media obtained the footage 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 concerning 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 to examine whether the authorization constituted a criminal offense or fell within prosecutorial discretion.
As of now, the investigation remains ongoing, with no final determinations announced respecting potential charges.