Right-wing lawmakers laud probe into leak of video showing soldiers’ abuse of detainee

By Sam Sokol 29 October 2025, 4:16 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"

Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot protests against the detention of Israeli reserve soldiers accused of severely abusing a terror suspect, at the Sde Teiman military base near Beersheba, July 29, 2024. (Dudu Greenspan/Flash90)

Right-wing lawmakers welcome the decision to open a criminal investigation into the leaking of surveillance video from the Sde Teiman detention facility, which purported to show soldiers severely abusing a Palestinian detainee last year.

According to the IDF, the possible involvement of individuals at the Military Advocate General’s office in the distribution of the video aired by Channel 12 news is being examined as part of the probe.

Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot asserts that “in the midst of the most difficult war in Israel’s history, the Military Advocate General chose to slander IDF soldiers, claiming they were involved in the rape of terrorists.”

Directly accusing MAG Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi of leaking the video, Sukkot claims she is responsible for spreading “insane anti-Israel propaganda around the world in the middle of the war,” adding that she should go “to prison.”

Sukkot was part of a mob that rioted outside the Sde Teiman IDF base after several soldiers were arrested in connection with the video, and was filmed pushing through the gates of the base despite IDF efforts to block his entrance. He was summoned for questioning by the Southern District police on Monday.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir welcomes the probe and Tomer-Yerushalmi’s leave from the IDF, stating that they constitute “a dramatic development in the defense of democracy against criminal conduct disguised as legal action.”

“All those involved in the affair must be held accountable, including the attorney general herself, who initially tried to thwart the investigation with a false statement to the High Court of Justice,” Ben Gvir alleges, without providing evidence.

Coalition whip Ofir Katz (Likud) welcomes the decision to open the investigation, stating that the video “severely harmed IDF soldiers, led to blood libels against them worldwide, and someone must pay!”

Fellow Likud MK Avichai Boaron alleges that the “fabricated video” is just “the tip of the iceberg of a system that has done everything, including tarnishing Israel’s reputation in the world, to advance its own agenda in opposition to decision-makers and the elected leadership.”