A packed courtroom looked on Tuesday morning as a three-judge High Court of Justice panel began hearing arguments over who will investigate former Military Attorney General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi for her role in leaking a video showing IDF reservists abusing a detainee at the Sde Teiman base last July.
Judges Yael Wilner, Alex Stein, and Gila Kanfi-Steinitz convened to decide who should supervise the sensitive investigation. The court gave all parties until Thursday at noon to reach a compromise, warning that if no agreement is reached, a verdict would be issued by Sunday at the latest.
“The public service interest in this case to reach a compromise is overwhelming; the people are begging for a mutual agreement,” Wilner said. Both sides rejected the proposed compromise, but the deadline remains in effect.
Wilner suggested that, because both current candidates to oversee the investigation, State Attorney Amit Aisman, proposed by Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, and Judicial Complaints Investigator and former judge Asher Kula, proposed by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, pose legal challenges, a different jurist should be appointed. Possible alternatives include a senior district court judge with criminal law experience, a retired Supreme Court justice, or a senior figure from the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) or the Israel Competition Authority (ICA).
“The time is ripe to reach agreements, to do good… [to] consider the public service needs right now - this requires an immediate resolution; there is no time,” Wilner said.
Baharav-Miara initially pressed to lead the investigation herself, but on Thursday evening, she agreed it would be transferred to Aisman, citing her prior involvement in the original probe and her failure to uncover the initial cover-up. Her previous involvement could also require her to testify.
“The A-G, justifiably, followed this case from the start… Her stepping away from managing the case now is not situational; it is fundamental [due to her position as attorney-general],” Wilner said Monday. The bench pressed prosecution representative Ran Rosenberg on the authority to transfer the investigation to Aisman.
Rosenberg acknowledged that a judge appointing a prosecutor in this context is unprecedented. Wilner responded, “This entire case is unprecedented.”
Regarding Kula’s appointment, Kanfi-Steinitz argued that a minister deciding who leads an investigation constitutes political intervention in an ongoing criminal case. Attorney Zion Amir, representing Levin, said the appointment falls within the minister’s authority under section 23a of the Civil Service (Appointments) Law (1959), which covers temporary authority transfers, including cases of recusal.
Wilner questioned Amir about a clause in Kula’s role preventing him from taking on a position with a conflict of interest. Kula was initially proposed directly by Levin, a potential protocol breach; he accepted at first but later said he would await the High Court’s decision.
Attorney-General can't appoint a figure to oversee the investigation
“The attorney-general can’t appoint the figure to oversee the investigation because of a personal and fundamental conflict of interest, but neither can Kula,” Wilner summarized.
The hearing stemmed from two petitions, later reinforced by others: one by Likud MK Avichay Boaron and the Lavi organization to remove Baharav-Miara from the case entirely, and another by Mismar HaDemocratia HaYisraelit (“Israeli Democracy Guard”), which called for Kula’s appointment to be invalidated.
On February 19, the military prosecution filed an indictment against five “Force 100” reservists at Sde Teiman, charging them with aggravated abuse and causing serious bodily harm to a security detainee. Three reservists attended Tuesday’s hearing, masked and wearing sunglasses, receiving applause from the audience. Likud MK Tally Gotliv was also present.
According to the indictment, the incident occurred on July 5, 2024. The detainee, blindfolded and hand-and-foot chained, was brought to a search area and subjected to extreme violence: beatings, being dragged, stepped on, tased (including in the head), and, in one instance stabbed in the buttock/rectal area with a sharp object, causing internal injuries such as broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a rectal tear.
The case has prompted investigations into both the leaked video and its cover-up, as well as civilian intrusion at the base following the arrests.