The BLUF - November 4th

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This is Atlas, and you’re reading the Bottom Line Up Front, where we cover the top geopolitical stories from around the world every Tuesday!

Today’s topics:

• Scandal Comes To IDF Over Jailed General

• Russia’s Latest Surge For Key Ukrainian Port City

• Peru Breaks Diplomatic Ties With Mexico Over Accepting Former PM Who Fled Charges

Scandal Comes To IDF Over Jailed General

_{By: Atlas}

Israeli police detained Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the Israel Defense Forces’ former military advocate general and the military’s top legal official, on suspicion of leaking classified surveillance footage that showed soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility in the Negev. The arrest came three days after she resigned and two days after she briefly went missing, prompting a search along the central coast. Police located her, questioned her, and then placed her under arrest on allegations that include fraud, breach of trust, abuse of office, obstruction of justice, and disclosure of official information.

According to police and government statements, the detention is part of a wider criminal investigation into how the August 2024 footage reached Israeli media, where it drew intense domestic and international scrutiny. The video was at the center of a politically sensitive military-police inquiry into the treatment of Palestinian detainees held during the Gaza war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already called the leak “one of the most severe public relations attacks” Israel had faced, and the government ordered an “independent, impartial” probe into the source of the video. That probe culminated in the former general’s arrest.

What the case is about

The leaked footage, recorded by security cameras at Sde Teiman, showed soldiers separating a blindfolded Palestinian detainee from a line of prisoners lying face-down, moving him to a shielded corner, and surrounding him so the camera could not capture the full extent of what happened next. The detainee later arrived at an Israeli hospital with multiple injuries, including broken ribs and rectal trauma, and military prosecutors charged five reservists with aggravated abuse and causing serious bodily harm. The soldiers have denied the allegations.

Maj. Gen. Tomer-Yerushalmi admitted in her resignation letter that she authorized the video’s release to “counter false propaganda” that, in her view, was undermining the IDF’s own law-enforcement bodies. She argued that the military has a duty to investigate “whenever there is reasonable suspicion of violence against a detainee,” and said she bore responsibility for any material that reached the media from her office. That admission supplied investigators with a direct link between the classified material and the leak now at the center of the criminal case.

Sequence of resignation, disappearance, and detention

The public learned of her involvement late last week, when she resigned after being told she would not be returned to her post while the inquiry was underway. Within 48 hours she failed to appear at home, her car was found near a beach north of Tel Aviv, and family members reported concern for her welfare. Police launched a search operation, located her in good condition, and, almost immediately afterward, announced that she had been taken into custody as a suspect in the leak investigation. A Tel Aviv court then extended her detention for 48 hours, citing the need to examine phones, documents, and communications tied to the case.

Police also detained at least one additional former senior military legal official in connection with the same investigation. Officials said the probe is being handled by a special police team and will look not only at the leak itself but also at possible efforts to mislead the High Court of Justice about how the video was released. The court documents list suspected offenses under Israeli law that apply to public servants who disclose confidential information or interfere with an ongoing criminal or military-police case.

Political and institutional context

The arrest exposed sharp divisions inside Israel over how to handle alleged misconduct by soldiers in wartime. On the political right, key figures had framed the original Sde Teiman case as an attack on combat troops and cast the leak as an act that harmed Israel’s image abroad. On the other side, legal experts and rights advocates said the footage confirmed long-standing claims about detainee abuse and that the military’s legal arm was doing what it is supposed to do: collect evidence and, when necessary, prosecute. The detention of the IDF’s highest-ranking legal officer therefore raised questions about whether law-enforcement authorities can act independently in politically charged cases.

Senior security officials have previously described the military advocate general’s office as a key part of Israel’s defense against international legal action: if Israel can show it investigates itself, foreign tribunals are less likely to claim jurisdiction. That logic is now at issue. The same official who authorized a prosecution over a detainee-abuse case—and then permitted video evidence to reach the public to defend the integrity of that prosecution—is now jailed on suspicion of damaging state interests.

What comes next

In the coming days, police are expected to finish the initial evidence-gathering phase: analyzing whether phones were wiped, tracing how the footage moved from military custody to media outlets, and interviewing other officers who worked in the advocate general’s office. A decision will then be made on whether to file formal charges such as fraud, breach of trust, or unlawful disclosure of official information. Until then, the court can keep the former general in custody in short extensions, especially if investigators argue that releasing her could interfere with the case.

At the same time, the military must name a permanent replacement to lead its legal branch. The defense minister has already said she will not be reinstated. The next advocate general will inherit both the original detainee-abuse file and a politically sensitive leak case against his or her predecessor. That means two parallel tracks will continue: one examining alleged crimes against a Palestinian detainee, and another examining the alleged mishandling of classified material meant to document those crimes..

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