AhlulBayt News Agency: The Israeli military is preparing to appoint a new advocate general following the resignation of its top legal officer, who admitted to leaking footage showing soldiers raping a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention camp.
Israeli Minister of Military Affairs Israel Katz was expected to meet with Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir on Sunday to discuss the appointment of a replacement.
Military prosecutor Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi stepped down on Friday after confirming her role in leaking surveillance footage from the notorious detention facility during Israel’s war on Gaza.
Her admission triggered intense backlash from far-right politicians and hawkish ministers, who accused her of betraying the state.
The resignation followed the launch of a criminal investigation by the Israeli army into the leak.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the leak, calling it “enormous damage” to Israel and “perhaps the most severe propaganda attack” since the country’s founding.
The footage, released in August last year, showed Israeli soldiers gang-raping a Palestinian detainee while forming a human barrier around him.
The leak coincided with political backlash over the military’s investigation into the assault.
Nine soldiers were questioned in July, sparking public outrage. Five were indicted for “severe abuse,” but not for rape. The trial is ongoing.
On Sunday, the accused soldiers called for the case to be dismissed.
The indictment described brutal acts including kicking, stomping, beating with clubs, dragging, and tasering the detainee, including on his head.
Haaretz reported that the victim suffered a ruptured bowel, severe anal and lung injuries, broken ribs, and required surgery.
Since the war began in October 2023, Israeli forces have been accused of widespread abuse of Palestinian detainees, including rape, torture, starvation, and denial of medical care.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society reports that 80 Palestinians have died in Israeli custody since October 2023.
In March, the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry found evidence of systematic sexual violence by Israeli officers against Palestinian detainees.
The commission documented cases of rape and assault involving electrical probes and forced insertion of foreign objects into detainees’ bodies.
One victim reported being suspended from the ceiling while a metal tool was repeatedly inserted into his penis until he bled and lost consciousness.
In August, war monitor AOAV revealed that 88% of Israeli military investigations into alleged war crimes since October 2023 were closed or yielded no findings.
The report concluded that Israel is fostering a “pattern of impunity” by failing to investigate serious accusations against its forces.
Rights groups and international organizations say prosecutions of Israeli soldiers for war crimes are extremely rare.
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