Comment: Even among their own, their pathology is beginning fracture the collective...
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The footage reportedly shows Israeli soldiers at a military base assaulting a Palestinian prisoner.
The Israel Defense Force's (IDF) top military lawyer has quit after admitting she approved the leak of a video allegedly showing Israeli soldiers abusing a Palestinian prisoner at a military base.
Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi announced her resignation on Friday, saying she
had authorized the release of surveillance footage from Sde Teiman near
the Gaza border, which also serves as a detention site. The
video, filmed in early July 2024, showed soldiers taking aside a
detainee lying face down, then surrounding him with riot shields to
block visibility as they allegedly carried out the abuse. The man was
later taken for treatment for severe injuries. The leaked clip was aired
by Israel's Channel 12 news that August.
In her resignation letter published by The Times of Israel on Friday, Tomer-Yerushalmi
said she approved the release "in an attempt to counter the false
propaganda directed against the military law enforcement authorities."
She wrote that while those detained at Sde Teiman "are terrorists
and terror operatives of the worst kind," that does not diminish the
duty to investigate when there is "reasonable suspicion of violence
against a detainee."
Commenting on her resignation, Defense Minister Israel Katz said, "Anyone who spreads blood libels against IDF soldiers is not worthy of wearing the IDF uniform."
Following the Sde Teiman incident, five reservists were charged with aggravated abuse and causing serious bodily harm to a detainee, which they have denied.
The case sparked outrage among coalition politicians and right-wing
activists. Dozens of protesters stormed the military base in an attempt
to block the arrests.
The facility, partially converted into a detention camp for Palestinians suspected of militant activity, has faced allegations of widespread torture and abuse. Over 1,000 detainees from Gaza have reportedly passed through the base,
including men accused of taking part in Hamas' October 7 attack, which
left some 1,200 people dead and 251 taken hostage. According to the
Hamas-controlled Gaza health authorities, Israeli military action has
killed over 68,000 Palestinians since.
The resignation adds to
growing scrutiny of Israel's conduct in Gaza, as both sides say they
remain committed to a US-brokered truce.
See also: Israel's Undeniable War Crimes in Gaza
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