From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 11, 2026
Ministers advance bill to make IDF’s top lawyer directly subordinate to chief of staff
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation votes to advance a bill to the Knesset that would make the IDF military advocate general subordinate solely to the IDF chief of staff.
Under current law, the military advocate general is subordinate to the chief of staff in the chain of command but is professionally bound by the law and by High Court of Justice rulings. Critics warn that placing the role solely under military authority could undermine the office’s independence.
The bill comes amid the ongoing Sde Teiman video leak investigation, in which former MAG Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi is a central suspect, accused of both authorizing the leak and attempting to cover it up. She is suspected of fraud and breach of trust, abuse of her office, obstruction of justice and unlawful disclosure of material over her role in the leak.
The bill is another attempt by the government to curb the power of the judiciary. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has been attacked by coalition lawmakers due to her office’s oversight of the failed internal probe.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin has been locked in a legal battle with her over his attempts to sideline Baharav-Miara from the investigation, and has accused her without evidence of taking part in the cover-up of the leak in the initial investigation.
The Times of Israel Community.