IDF’s Top Lawyer Resigns After Approving Leak of Rape Tape

Sde Teiman, a converted logistics base in the Negev, was established after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack to detain suspected militants, including Hamas’s Nukhba forces. Allegations of systematic abuse, medical neglect, and deaths in custody have plagued the facility since late 2023, with up to 35 detainees believed dead.

Abuse Footage and Leak Fallout

The scandal erupted when Channel 12 aired an August 2024 video showing Force 100 reservists raping a blindfolded Palestinian detainee.

Five soldiers were indicted for aggravated assault that July. The footage triggered far-right protests demanding their release and vilifying prosecutors.

“Unworthy of Wearing the Uniform”

Katz accused Tomer-Yerushalmi of “slandering IDF soldiers with blood libels” and prioritizing “the interests of the Nukhba terrorists.”

Hours later, she resigned after meeting Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, acknowledging she had approved the video’s release to “combat false propaganda” against her office.

Katz vowed to strip ranks and pursue criminal sanctions against anyone involved.

Leak Investigation Overshadows Abuse Probe

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has opened a criminal inquiry into whether Tomer-Yerushalmi’s staff leaked the video.

Civilian police—not military investigators—will handle the case. Legal experts warn the new probe could disrupt ongoing prosecutions and shift focus from torture allegations to internal secrecy.