A junior officer in the Military Prosecution admitted during a routine Shin Bet polygraph screening last month to participating in the leak of a sensitive video allegedly showing IDF soldiers abusing a Palestinian inmate held at the Sde Teiman detention center and covering it up, an admission that has triggered a criminal investigation at the highest levels of the military justice system.
The officer, recently promoted to a senior enforcement role, revealed her involvement during a follow-up interview after initial polygraph results were inconclusive. She told a Shin Bet interrogator that she had been part of the team that leaked the video footage, and that she and others had misled the High Court of Justice about the leak’s origins.
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Outgoing military advocate general Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi
(Photo: Meir Even Haim, Shalev Shalom)
A Tel Aviv magistrate court judge on Friday granted her request to keep her identity under a gag order. While she remains under suspicion, it is not yet clear whether her promotion has been suspended or revoked. The position she was promoted to is not directly tied to Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the outgoing military advocate general, who is also under investigation.
The officer’s disclosure has widened the scandal, implicating between six and eight officers who were allegedly present during internal consultations before the leak. Military officials expect additional criminal investigations and dismissals in the coming days.
According to sources close to the officer, her confession lifted what they described as “a heavy personal burden.” While she supported the leak in principle—believing it was done under an informal internal protocol rather than secretly—she said she could no longer bear the weight of what she called “a massive lie” that included presenting false information to the High Court.
“This got out of control,” a source familiar with the investigation told Ynet. “If such sensitive material was going to be released, it should have gone through the IDF spokesperson, if at all. The leak itself might not technically violate military orders, because the Military Prosecution has the authority to release certain materials. And if junior officers followed direct orders from superiors—especially from the chief prosecutor—they are likely shielded from legal exposure.”
The officer is suspected of a relatively minor offense: unauthorized disclosure of classified materials. Though she physically transmitted the two videos in question, she did so under what she says was a direct order from her superior. Her testimony, however, has now prompted the attorney general to authorize a full criminal investigation.
Military Police confront IDF reservists suspected of abuse of a Palestinian detainee on Sde Teiman base
The Shin Bet polygraph interview was meant to vet her for the new role. In such screenings, testimonies are typically confidential unless they involve imminent threats to national security or credible allegations of serious crimes. Her admission fell into the latter category.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir referred the case to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who decided not to treat the matter as solely a disciplinary issue but to launch a full criminal probe in a rare move.
Legal experts say Baharav-Miara took a bold step. “She knew the Shin Bet testimony was not admissible in court,” one legal source said, “but she still ordered a police investigation because the accumulation of falsehoods crossed into criminal territory.”
The officer has since been interviewed under caution by police. Her phone and computer were examined, and investigators reportedly obtained evidence through standard procedures.
In the coming days, Tomer-Yerushalmi and several colleagues from the Military Prosecution are expected to be confronted with the allegations. However, with the officer’s confession and Tomer-Yerushalmi’s resignation letter submitted Friday, the core facts appear unlikely to be contested.
According to the officer, her role in the affair ended after she transmitted the videos. She maintains that responsibility for reporting the leak to an internal review team led by Deputy Advocate General Col. Gal Asael lay solely with Tomer-Yerushalmi.