Former Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi was released Friday morning from Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, nearly a month after being admitted. Police said Thursday she will be summoned for questioning in the coming days.
A Magen David Adom team was dispatched to her home on Nov. 9 after a report of an overdose, two days after she was released to house arrest as part of the investigation into the leaked video showing abuse at the Sde Teiman detention facility. She was evacuated conscious and in stable condition.
Her house-arrest order expired about a week later, and police did not request an extension. “The number of days is irrelevant while she is hospitalized; once she is released, the need for further conditions will be evaluated,” a police official said at the time.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court President Justice Yitzhak Amit on Thursday granted Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s request for an additional hearing on the ruling that had given Justice Minister Yariv Levin authority to appoint an overseer for the investigation. The hearing will take place before an expanded panel of 11 justices.
Amit emphasized that the conclusions of the upcoming hearing will apply only prospectively and will not affect the ongoing investigation. “The decision in the additional hearing will not apply to the specific investigative process discussed in the ruling under review,” he wrote.
The petition by Baharav-Miara and several civil society groups was filed about two weeks ago, after Amit froze Levin’s appointment of Commissioner for Judicial Complaints Asher Kola as supervisor of the investigation. Although a previous ruling had held that Levin possesses the authority to appoint such an overseer, the justices clarified that the appointee must be a senior civil servant.
In its decision, the court noted that because this is a criminal investigation — and because precedent bars elected officials from intervening in criminal probes — the authority granted to Levin was exceptional and tied to the specific circumstances of the case. Petitioners argued the power should be revoked entirely, saying it opens the door for political influence over criminal investigations.
Two days ago, the Supreme Court formally cancelled Levin’s appointment of retired District Court Judge Yosef Ben Hamo, ruling that he does not meet the definition of a senior civil servant. “Even if the minister views the appointment as urgent, that cannot override the standards set in the ruling or the obligation to follow proper administrative procedure,” Amit wrote. Levin later criticized the decision, saying, “Those who call themselves guardians of the gate and guardians of the law are actually protecting each other.”