Full Breakdown
Supreme Court Halts Proceedings in Former Military Advocate General Case
8/29/2026, 8:12:54 AM
Supreme Court Halts Proceedings in Tomer-Yerushalmi Investigation
The Israeli Supreme Court issued a temporary freeze on the legal proceedings against former Military Advocate General Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi. The freeze follows a request by Likud MK Avichai Boaron and the right-wing organization Lavi for an additional hearing to reconsider the court’s earlier decision not to intervene in the investigation of Tomer-Yerushalmi’s alleged role in leaking a video that claimed abuse of Palestinian prisoners at Sde Teman prison.
Recent Judicial Rulings and Legal Context
Three weeks prior, the court had ruled that there were no grounds for judicial intervention in the investigation and that the state attorney’s discretion to decide on charges should not be overridden. The same decision declined to grant Justice Minister Yariv Levin extra time to appoint an oversight official for the investigation, which had already concluded. The new request for a hearing is anchored in the minority opinion of Supreme Court Justice David Mintz, voiced on May 25, 2026, arguing that the investigation required oversight due to its extraordinary sensitivity and that the lack of such oversight invalidated the earlier conclusion.
Key Judicial Opinions
Justice David Mintz contended that without proper oversight, the investigation could not be deemed valid, even retrospectively, and warned that ignoring this could prolong the process. He emphasized that the police’s exhaustion of investigative actions did not justify proceeding without a review of procedural legitimacy.
Official Actions and Current Status
Justice Dafna Barak-Erez, who assumed handling of the request, issued a brief decision ordering a stay of execution of the earlier ruling.
Verbatim Quote
- “The request for a further hearing was transferred to my handling yesterday, Thursday evening. For the sake of caution and without taking a position at this stage, I order a stay of execution of the ruling that is the subject of the request, by freezing the current situation regarding the handling of the investigation file by the state attorney, until another decision is issued.” — Justice Dafna Barak-Erez
