Police are investigating whether a mobile phone found by a swimmer at Tel Baruch Beach in Tel Aviv belongs to outgoing Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who is under house arrest amid an investigation into the leak of a video showing Israeli reserve soldiers allegedly abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility.
The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Friday ordered Tomer-Yerushalmi released from custody to 10 days of house arrest. At police request, the court also barred her from contacting others involved in the case for 55 days.
Judge Sheli Kotin, who presided over the hearing, prohibited media filming inside the courtroom. Attorney Dori Klagsbald, representing Tomer-Yerushalmi, told the court, “Nothing has changed since the previous hearings, when photography was also banned. On the contrary, recent days have only worsened her situation.” The judge told Tomer-Yerushalmi that the restriction on contact with others in the case was “very important.”
Tomer-Yerushalmi, who admitted to involvement in the leak, appeared via Zoom from Neve Tirza Prison. She is suspected of fraud and breach of trust, abuse of office, obstruction of justice, and passing information by a public servant. She posted bail of 20,000 shekels (about $5,200). Police did not seek to confiscate her passport or impose a travel ban.
During a previous hearing Wednesday, police revealed that they had seized a smartwatch from her home and that she provided the password to unlock it. Investigators suspect she threw her mobile phone into the sea to conceal evidence. A police representative said the discovery of the phone on Tel Baruch Beach came after “dozens of investigative actions and witness statements,” adding that the suspicions against Tomer-Yerushalmi “have significantly strengthened.”
In addition to the smartwatch, officers seized three notebooks from her home containing notes from her conversations with attorneys. Klagsbald objected to the seizure, citing attorney-client privilege. “We requested that you return them because of privilege, or alternatively, that you seal them in an envelope,” he said. Police responded that the notebooks were sealed and would be submitted to the court for review.
The case has also sparked a power struggle over who will supervise the investigation. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara announced Thursday that, following a legal opinion by Justice Ministry counsel Yael Kotik, she was transferring responsibility for the case to State Attorney Amit Isman. Justice Minister Yariv Levin, however, rejected the move and said he would not hand oversight to Isman. He has instead appointed retired Judge Asher Kola, the commissioner for complaints against judges, to monitor the probe.
Kotik’s opinion, written at the request of Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon, determined that Baharav-Miara is barred from supervising the investigation because of a possible conflict of interest. The opinion also stated that neither Baharav-Miara nor senior prosecutors were aware of any false reports Tomer-Yerushalmi allegedly submitted, including to the High Court of Justice.
Baharav-Miara wrote to Levin that his decision to appoint Kola was illegal, calling it “an abuse of authority intended to interfere in a criminal proceeding.” Her office said the move undermined the integrity of the investigation and would cause “unnecessary delay” in completing it. Levin replied briefly: “I have received your letter and reject its contents outright.”
Kola, who had already sent letters to several officials involved in the case, said he would comply with any future ruling by the High Court of Justice. In a separate response to a High Court petition seeking to bar her from overseeing the investigation, Baharav-Miara said the petition was “no longer relevant and should be dismissed.”
Supreme Court Deputy President Justice Noam Sohlberg ruled that a hearing on the petition will be held by next Tuesday. Following that decision, Kola announced he would suspend his role as inspector until the court rules.