Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court Judge Shelley Kutin on Wednesday approved the police’s request to extend former IDF chief lawyer Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi’s remand until Friday, the second such extension this week, to undertake further questioning of her role in the leak of a video relating to the Sde Teiman Palestinian prisoner abuse cases.
Earlier Wednesday, the court had separately approved an unusual request to allow her to appear in the next court hearing by video-conference from her prison due to her delicate mental state.
Previously, on Monday, Kutin extended the detention of Tomer-Yerushalmi until Wednesday, voicing concerns that she might obstruct the probe into the case against her for allegedly leaking the video.
While the state prosecution on Monday had sought five additional days of detention to question Tomer-Yerushalmi regarding her role in the leak, her defense lawyers argued that five of the other suspects have already been questioned and that many of the text messages that incriminate her are already in the possession of the police when they seized those other suspects’ phones.
Further, the defense lawyers argued that she had not tried to contact the other suspects to get them to obstruct the probe for over a week since her legal situation became clear to her, a sign that she will not do so going forward, which would support freeing her from detention.
However, the police pointed out on Monday that all of the mysterious events surrounding her disappearance on Sunday night may have been an elaborate scheme to destroy her phone in the Mediterranean Sea, a major form of obstruction of the investigation.
The likelihood of that saga being a cover-up has only risen in recent days.
The court said that, though she will not run the actual trial and is only managing the pre-indictment detention hearings, she believed that the police had presented sufficient evidence to make a case against the former IDF chief lawyer, as well as having presented evidence justifying giving them more time to question her.
Police bring additional evidence against former top IDF lawyer
Despite the court’s limiting Tomer-Yerushalmi’s detention on Monday, the police brought additional evidence against her, and her lack of cooperation or difficult mental state convinced the court to give them more time, with her latest request to avoid showing up in court only helping the police’s argument.
The detention extension hearings for Tomer-Yerushalmi on Monday and on Wednesday also involved former chief military prosecutor Col. Matan Solomesh.
Solomesh’s remand was only extended until the end of the day Wednesday, with the court saying that he was less central to the case and less involved in any cover-up.
There was an extended debate about how involved he was in leaking the video and covering up its leaking, with his defense lawyer admitting that he knew that Tomer-Yerushalmi was dealing with the media and was watching a video of the alleged Sde Teiman abuse incident, but the prosecution saying that the fact that he was in the room with Tomer-Yerushalmi as she allegedly hatched aspects of the leak and then later did not out her, shows he was part of the leak and part of the cover up.
Also, the prosecution revealed it has questioned under caution lead Sde Teiman case prosecutor Lior Ayash and questioned as a witness deputy IDF chief lawyer Col. Gal Asahel.
Moreover, the prosecution added that it is now homing in on eight total suspects and that it had found Tomer-Yerushalmi’s smartwatch and is accessing it with her code, which she provided.
Tomer-Yerushalmi and Solomesh were apprehended by Israel Police late Sunday night, as part of the investigation into the leak of a video documenting the abuse of a Palestinian prisoner at the Sde Teiman detention facility.
She is likely to be questioned on suspicion of obstructing an investigation, submitting a false document to the High Court of Justice, fraud and breach of trust, abuse of authority, and concealment of evidence.
Solomesh is expected to be questioned on suspicion of obstruction of an investigation, fraud, and breach of trust.
Tomer-Yerushalmi, who admitted to leaking the video and announced her resignation from the post on Friday, was missing for several hours on Sunday night. Police launched a search after losing contact with her since the morning; she failed to show up for scheduled meetings.
Her car was found abandoned on the beach, and the status of her personal phone remains unclear. In the evening, she was located on Herzliya Beach and referred for psychiatric evaluation.
In her resignation letter on Friday to IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, she admitted that she had approved “the release of material to the media in an attempt to counter false propaganda against law enforcement officials in the army.”
“I take full responsibility for any material that was released to the media from within the unit. From that responsibility also stems my decision to end my tenure as Military Advocate General,” she added.
Last week, a criminal investigation had been opened into the leak of a video allegedly showing the abuse of a Gazan detainee at the Sde Teiman base last year, and that “the involvement of individuals within the Military Advocate General’s Office is being examined.”
In July 2024, a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman was allegedly subjected to severe abuse by five reservist soldiers. According to the indictment, the detainee – who was bound and blindfolded – suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung, and injuries consistent with sexual assault after soldiers inserted a sharp object near his rectum.
The Military Police arrested nine soldiers in connection with the incident, sparking riots and break-ins at the base by far-right supporters and several Knesset members who sought to block the arrests.
One month later, in August 2024, a leaked video from inside Sde Teiman – broadcast by Channel 12 – appeared to show soldiers surrounding and abusing the detainee. The footage reignited outrage domestically and abroad, prompting a criminal probe and a public reckoning over the treatment of Palestinian prisoners.
Five reservists were indicted in February 2025 for aggravated abuse and serious assault.
Sarah Ben-Nun contributed to this report.