High Court temporarily blocks state prosecutor from handling Sde Teiman leak case

The High Court of Justice temporarily freezes the hand-off of the Sde Teiman leak affair to State Attorney Amit Aisman, in light of a petition to revisit a 2-1 decision earlier this month that affirmed his right to handle it.

Justice Daphne Barak-Erez says that she is taking the step “strictly out of an abundance of caution,” and that she is not thereby taking a position on whether a second hearing will ultimately be held.

The government has sought to keep the case out of the hands of state prosecutors, alleging a conflict of interest because Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara oversaw an internal probe into the leak that recommended not opening a criminal investigation into the matter.

The case concerns the leak of a highly controversial video showing the alleged abuse of a Palestinian detainee by Israeli soldiers in 2024.

The video was leaked to press after the soldiers’ indictment sparked uproar among many on the Israeli right. It was later discovered that then-chief military prosecutor Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi had leaked the footage, leading to the case against her.