Ex-IDF legal chief due in court; police said to believe she may have staged suicide attempt to get rid of her phone

Former military advocate general Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi and former chief military prosecutor Col. Matan Solomosh, who were arrested by police last night, will be brought for a remand hearing at 11 a.m. at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court, authorities say.

Police said last night that the pair are suspected of “leaking and other serious criminal offenses,” over the leak of a video that purportedly showed soldiers severely abusing a Palestinian security detainee at the Sde Teiman military detention facility video and an alleged subsequent cover-up, with false reports given to officials regarding an internal investigation into the leak.

Yesterday, Tomer-Yerushalmi went missing for several hours after reportedly leaving a concerning note for her family, sparking fears for her wellbeing and a massive search effort, before being found alive and well.

Channel 12 news reports this morning that police suspect that Tomer-Yerushalmi had no intention of committing suicide, and that the entire saga was staged in order for her to get rid of her phone, which may have incriminating information on it.

Tomer-Yerushalmi allegedly took two phones with her, one that would enable her to be located, and the other which she tossed into the sea near Tel Aviv, the report says.

The letter that she left behind, reported by some outlets as a “suicide note,” was also allegedly staged, with Channel 12 describing it as “an ambiguous, strange letter full of hints that don’t characterize suicide notes.”