A Tel Aviv court on Monday extended the detention of outgoing IDF Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi by three days, citing concerns that she may obstruct the ongoing police investigation into the alleged leak of footage from the Sde Teiman detention facility.
Tomer-Yerushalmi, who appeared in court without her uniform or handcuffs, is suspected of fraud and breach of trust, obstruction of justice, misuse of authority, and providing information by a public official. The court session, presided over by Judge Shelly Kutin, was held with open doors, but photography of the defendant was prohibited.
3 View gallery
Outgoing IDF Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi
(Photo: IDF, Meir Even Haim)
“The suspicions are serious, and there is a public interest in uncovering the truth,” said a police representative during the hearing, adding that there are “grave concerns of interference with the investigation.”
The judge extended her detention until November 5. Police confirmed that five people have been arrested so far, and seven more are expected to be questioned. Several phones, including those belonging to the suspects, were seized — among them group chats allegedly involving Tomer-Yerushalmi.
Tomer-Yerushalmi was arrested late Sunday night, just hours after she was reported missing. Her disappearance — during which her car was found abandoned on a Herzliya beach — prompted a massive search involving the navy and drone units. She was later found unharmed after contacting her husband from a phone that was not her own.
3 View gallery
Security and emergency forces near her vehicle located at the beach
(Photo: Reuters/Nir Elias)
Investigators suspect the disappearance was an intentional attempt to destroy evidence. Her personal phone, believed to contain key information, remains missing, with police exploring the possibility she threw it into the sea.
Police also detained former chief military prosecutor Col. Matan Solomesh, suspected of being part of a cover-up and of concealing the leak. Investigators say partial computer files recovered contradict his version of events.
Following her arrest, Tomer-Yerushalmi was taken to the Neve Tirtza women’s prison, where she is being held in an isolated unit. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered that surveillance cameras be installed in her cell “to prevent interference with the investigation and to ensure her safety.”
Police said the case is being handled by a special investigative team under the head of the Investigations and Intelligence Division, Maj. Gen. Boaz Balat.
The probe focuses on suspicions that Tomer-Yerushalmi instructed a subordinate officer to leak the Sde Teiman footage, allegedly specifying the type of material and the journalist to whom it should be delivered.
Her defense attorneys, Dori Klagsbald and Jacques Chen, requested that she be released to house arrest, but police objected, arguing that “the risk of obstruction remains high.”
Tomer-Yerushalmi’s arrest — coming amid public scrutiny over alleged misconduct within the Military Advocate General’s Office — has shaken the military legal establishment, with additional officers expected to be questioned in the coming days.