ISRAEL'S OUTRAGE: THE LEAK, NOT THE CRIME

A leaked video from Israel’s Sde Teiman detention centre shows soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian prisoner — yet the Israeli government’s response isn’t to investigate the assault, but to hunt down whoever leaked the footage.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara launched a criminal probe into the “leakers,” backed by top officials including Defense Minister Israel Katz, who claimed the video created a “blood libel” against Israeli troops. Far-right ministers like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir are calling for harsh punishment for those who “harmed Israel’s image,” while the assault itself remains ignored.

The fallout intensified when Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the former top lawyer of the Israeli military, resigned last week, admitting her role in leaking the footage, and was subsequently arrested after briefly going missing north of Tel Aviv. She was later found and taken into custody, alongside the former chief military prosecutor, as part of the criminal investigation.

The footage, first aired on Israel’s Channel 12 in 2024, offered rare evidence of the abuses Palestinians have long reported inside Sde Teiman — a facility repeatedly accused of torture, sexual assault, and medical neglect. Israel’s own High Court once ordered it shut down, yet it remains operational.

When the military finally detained the accused soldiers, mobs — including ministers and an MP — stormed the base in protest. Instead of demanding justice for the victim, they demanded protection for the perpetrators.

This isn’t just hypocrisy; it’s the full exposure of a system built on impunity. In today’s Israel, the real crime isn’t what soldiers do — it’s that the world found out.