(MENAFN- Live Mint) Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who until last week served as the chief military advocate general of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), has been arrested as part of an investigation into the leak of a shocking video that allegedly showed Israeli soldiers severely abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman military base.

Police confirmed on Sunday that Tomer-Yerushalmi, 51, was taken into custody along with former chief military prosecutor Col. Matan Solomosh. Their arrests came just hours after she was reported missing, prompting an hours-long search along the Tel Aviv coast before being found safe in Herzliya.

The arrest marks a dramatic turn in an escalating political controversy that has divided Israel's military and political leadership.

Military leader

Tomer-Yerushalmi, a major general and only the second woman in IDF history to reach that rank, was one of the military's most prominent legal figures. She served as chief military advocate from September 2021 to October 2025, overseeing all military prosecutions and legal standards for soldiers in wartime conduct.

Academic and legal background

A native of Netanya, she studied law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem through the Military Academic Reserve and later earned a master's degree from Tel Aviv University. She also studied at the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School in Virginia.

Champion of ethics and equality

Over nearly three decades in service, she handled key legal cases involving military ethics, war conduct, and gender equality. She previously served as the IDF's gender affairs advisor, where she helped establish the“Metsapim” center to support parenthood during service.

Sde Teiman abuse video

The controversy centers on footage broadcast in August 2024 by Israel's Channel 12, allegedly showing Israeli reserve soldiers at the Sde Teiman detention camp - a facility in southern Israel holding Palestinian detainees - beating and sexually assaulting a prisoner while blocking cameras with riot shields.

The detainee reportedly suffered severe internal injuries and was hospitalized.

Five reservists were charged with aggravated abuse and causing serious bodily harm, but they have denied the allegations.

The incident has become a flashpoint in Israel's political divide:

The right-wing calls the video a“defamation” of the military and an act of“treason.”

The left views the footage as proof of systemic abuse and applauds Tomer-Yerushalmi for allowing transparency.

Resignation

Last week, Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned after admitting she had authorized the release of the classified video material to the media.

In her resignation letter, she wrote:“I approved the release of material to the media in an attempt to counter false propaganda against the army's law enforcement authorities.”

She also defended the principle of accountability within the military, stating that“it is our duty to investigate whenever there is reasonable suspicion of acts of violence against a detainee.”

Her stance angered senior political leaders. Defense Minister Israel Katz said,“Anyone who spreads blood libels against IDF troops is unfit to wear the army's uniform.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Sde Teiman incident“perhaps the most severe public relations attack that the State of Israel has experienced since its establishment.”

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Hours after Netanyahu's remarks, reports emerged that Tomer-Yerushalmi had gone missing near a beach north of Tel Aviv. Police and rescue forces launched an extensive search, finding her alive several hours later.

That night, she and Col. Solomosh were arrested on suspicion of“leaking and other serious criminal offences” tied to the classified video.

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