IDF to step up security for Military Advocate General in face of far-right fury
Top IDF lawyer Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi declared by activists to be a ‘cursed woman’ and ‘betrayer of the people of Israel’ after arrest of 9 IDF soldiers suspected of abuse
The Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday that it will step up security for Military Advocate General Brig. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, after far-right activists stormed two military bases a day earlier amid an investigation into alleged severe abuse against a Palestinian security prisoner.
The top IDF lawyer will receive enhanced personal security as well as increased protection around her home, the reports said, after she was threatened on Monday by right-wing activists for ordering the arrest of nine soldiers suspected of carrying out acts of abuse, including rape, against a detainee at the Sde Teiman military facility.
After the Military Police launched the arrest operation, protesters burst through the gates of the base in southern Israel, with the encouragement and participation of several far-right lawmakers. Some later broke into the Beit Lid military base after learning that the detained soldiers had been taken there for questioning.
A protest was also organized outside Tomer-Yerushalmi’s home in Ramat Hasharon, although police forced the demonstrators to a location several hundred meters away, as is always the case when demonstrations are held outside the homes of government or military officials.
Protesters branded the IDF official a “betrayer of the people of Israel,” the Ynet news site reported, and charged that she had “defended” terrorists who were part of Hamas’s commando Nukhba Force.
“You are a cursed woman,” one activist declared.
According to Ynet, the activists objected to being prevented from standing directly outside her home, with one reportedly claiming that they were being treated as “second-class citizens.”
Tomer-Yerushalmi was also condemned by several far-right lawmakers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who on Monday released a video demanding that she “take her hands off the reservists” who had been arrested.
“As in the Israel Prison Service so in the IDF. Our fighters deserve full backing,” the ultranationalist minister declared.
Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer of the Religious Zionism party condemned the riots on the IDF bases on Tuesday and said those who participated should be arrested, but nevertheless contended that Tomer-Yerushalmi did not go about things correctly.
The investigation into the soldiers was launched after a detained terror suspect was brought from the base to a hospital with signs of serious abuse, including to his anus. He was arrested by the IDF in the Gaza Strip several weeks ago.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi gave his full backing to Tomer-Yerushalmi to launch both the investigation and the arrest operations.
Tomer-Yerushalmi previously warned in February of this year that some of the soldiers in Gaza were committing illegal actions that “deviate from IDF values and protocols.”
She said at the time that the unacceptable conduct of the troops included “inappropriate statements that encourage unacceptable phenomena; unjustified use of force, including against detainees; looting, which include the use or removal of private property for non-operational purposes; and destruction of civilian property contrary to protocols.”
Sam Sokol contributed to this report.
