Israeli army officer resigns, saying she's 'not fit to wear the IDF uniform'

News Topical, Digital Desk : The Israeli military's chief legal officer, Advocate General Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, has resigned from her post. Tomer-Yerushalmi said she resigned due to a criminal investigation into a video showing soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee arrested during the Gaza War.

After the truth came out during the investigation, Tomer-Yerushalmi said she was stepping down because she had approved the leaking of the video in August 2024. In her resignation letter, Tomer-Yerushalmi called the Sde Teiman detainees "terrorists of the worst kind," but added that this did not absolve her of the obligation to investigate suspected abuse.

Human rights groups reported on the leak of videos of Palestinians in Israeli custody during the war. The Israeli military is investigating dozens of cases alleging abuse. During the investigation, the name of Advocate General Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the Israeli military's chief legal officer, surfaced in a leaked video. Following this, she announced her resignation.

Unfit to wear IDF uniform

Some politicians reacted immediately to the resignation of Tomer-Yerushalmi, the Israeli military's chief legal officer. Katz said that anyone who "makes false accusations of murder against Israeli soldiers does not deserve to wear the IDF uniform."

Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir welcomed the resignations and called for an investigation by more legal authorities. He also posted a video of himself standing over Palestinian prisoners shackled on the floor of an Israeli jail, saying they were the perpetrators of the October 7 attackers and should be put to death.

The video of the attack, which took place on October 7, 2023, was leaked.

According to reports, a week after the incursion into the military base, security camera video showing moments of the alleged abuse was leaked to Israel's N12 News. Soldiers are shown taking a prisoner aside and crowding around him. They are holding a dog and their movements are obscured by their anti-riot gear.

The footage comes from the Sde Teiman detention camp, which houses some Hamas militants who took part in the October 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war. Palestinians captured in the subsequent months of fighting in Gaza are also held. 

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