National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir claimed Monday that the missing phone of outgoing Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi contains evidence implicating Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, as the political fallout from the military leak scandal continues to intensify.
Speaking at a meeting of his Otzma Yehudit faction, Ben Gvir said, “If that phone is found and recovered, it contains evidence against Baharav-Miara. She’s not pressuring the police without reason—she’s trying to prevent the truth from coming out.”
His remarks came as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leveled fresh accusations at Tomer-Yerushalmi, whose detention was extended by three days Sunday night amid a widening probe into the leak of classified footage from the Sde Teiman detention center. The former prosecutor went missing for several hours before being located and taken into custody.
Smotrich suggested that her disappearance may have been staged to dispose of the phone and destroy evidence. “If she faked a suicide attempt just to get rid of her phone, how was someone capable of such criminal behavior allowed to lead Israel’s military legal system until just days ago?” he said.
In a sharply worded statement, Smotrich accused both Tomer-Yerushalmi and the attorney general of being part of a corrupt legal elite. “We are witnessing the collapse of a long-standing myth about the infallibility of so-called gatekeepers,” he said. “They’ve tried to seize control of decision-making in this country—taking more and more power at the expense of Israeli democracy.”
Smotrich demanded answers as to why Tomer-Yerushalmi was not immediately arrested when initial suspicions arose, and why no one searched for her during the hours she was unaccounted for. He also questioned why her phone was not seized at the beginning of the investigation.
The controversy stems from the unauthorized leak of a video from Sde Teiman purportedly showing Israeli soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee, which officials say caused significant damage to Israel and the IDF’s international standing.
Avigdor Liberman, head of the Yisrael Beytenu party, also addressed the scandal during his party meeting, saying the legal process must run its course. “We need to decide if there are still judges in Jerusalem,” he said. “If so, they should be the ones to determine the outcome.”
He added that there was no doubt Tomer-Yerushalmi leaked the footage, calling it a criminal act with severe consequences. “There’s no ambiguity. Whoever leaked that video must face the full weight of the law,” he said.
Tomer-Yerushalmi and her former deputy, Col. Matan Solomesh—until recently the IDF’s chief military prosecutor—were both arrested overnight. Solomesh is suspected of playing a central role in what officials describe as a cover-up effort to conceal the leak.
Both appeared in Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court without handcuffs or uniforms. The charges against Tomer-Yerushalmi include breach of trust, abuse of authority, obstruction of justice and providing false information as a public official.
Judge Sheli Kotin ruled to extend both detentions by three days, citing a risk of obstruction and noting that there was credible suspicion the two senior officers had interfered with the investigation.