Military’s Top Legal Officials Arrested on Suspicion of Leaks and Serious Criminal Offenses
In a dramatic overnight development, police arrested the IDF’s chief military prosecutor, Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, and the army’s recently retired chief military prosecutor, Colonel Matan Solomesh, on suspicion of leaking classified information and committing other serious criminal offenses.
The arrests came roughly a week after details of the investigation were first exposed. Tomer-Yerushalmi, who had been missing for several hours before being found alive on Sunday, was taken into custody late last night. Solomesh was detained shortly afterward. Both are expected to appear today before the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court for a remand hearing.
According to police, the arrests were made amid growing suspicions that Tomer-Yerushalmi was behind the leak of a video allegedly documenting abuse at the Sde Teiman detention facility. Investigators believe she later filed a false affidavit to the High Court of Justice, claiming it was impossible to determine who had leaked the footage.
Authorities suspect that Tomer-Yerushalmi may have staged her disappearance to dispose of her cellphone, which allegedly contains crucial evidence related to the investigation. Her apparent disappearance triggered a large-scale search operation after she left a note at her home and could not be reached. Later in the evening, she reportedly contacted her husband from another phone, but her personal device has not yet been recovered.
Police confirmed the arrests in an official statement early Monday morning: “As part of an ongoing investigation being conducted by a special police unit, on suspicion of a leak and other serious criminal offenses, two key suspects in the case have been taken into custody. Depending on the progress of the investigation, the two are expected to be brought before the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court tomorrow for an extension of their detention.”
The scandal has shaken Israel’s military and legal establishment. Just hours before the arrests, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opened the weekly cabinet meeting by condemning the damage caused by the Sde Teiman video leak. “The incident at Sde Teiman caused enormous harm to Israel and to the IDF, to our soldiers. It may be the most severe propaganda attack Israel has faced since its founding. I don’t recall anything with such intensity,” Netanyahu said. “This requires an independent, impartial investigation, and I expect that such an inquiry will be carried out.”
{Matzav.com}
