Barkat vows to bankroll lawsuit against ex-MAG, Ch. 12 reporter over Sde Teiman leak

By Sam Sokol 1 January 2026, 3:29 pm

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Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

Economy Minister Nir Barkat attends a vote on the state budget at the Knesset in Jerusalem, March 13, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Economy Minister Nir Barkat announces that he will bankroll a lawsuit by several IDF reservists against former military advocate general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, Channel 12 correspondent Guy Peleg and others over the airing of leaked footage from the Sde Teiman holding facility last year depicting soldiers’ alleged abuse of a Gazan detainee.

Speaking with Radio Galey Israel, Barkat — who recently told Channel 14 that he would file his own NIS 12 million ($3.7 million) lawsuit against the network over a report on his alleged conflicts of interest — says he has established a legal fund of NIS 2 million ($627,572) and “will provide legal assistance also to those who want to sue them.”

In a subsequent tweet, Barkat says he will put some of this money toward the reservists’ lawsuit and that it is “time to stop the bullying by the fading and hate-filled channel.”

According to the Maariv daily, four soldiers filed an NIS 5 million ($1.5 million) lawsuit on Tuesday against Peleg and Channel 12, Tomer-Yerushalmi, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, and national broadcaster Kan relating to “the damages they suffered following the publication of the video related to the Sde Teiman affair.”

Peleg, Channel 12’s legal correspondent, last year aired a leaked video depicting the alleged abuse of a Palestinian prisoner in Sde Teiman last year, after receiving the footage from Tomer-Yerushalmi — against whom there is enough evidence for an indictment, the police have reportedly determined. Police have reportedly found no evidence to indicate that Baharav-Miara had any knowledge of or involvement in the leak.

Both Education Minister Yoav Kisch and Justice Minister Yariv Levin said this week that they would not grant interviews to Channel 12, with Levin calling on the network to apologize to the soldiers accused of misconduct at Sde Teiman.