The IDF ‘abuse’ scandal will provide fuel to those waging lawfare against Israel

As expected, the Military Advocate General’s Office came under fire for charging soldiers at a time of war. Weeks later, a video was leaked to Channel 12 from a security camera in the prison which was said to have documented the alleged abuse – although the clip was inconclusive because soldiers were seen blocking the view of the camera with their shields.

Fast forward to last week: Military Advocate-General Maj.-Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned suddenly on Friday after police determined that she was the source of the leak of the surveillance video showing the alleged abuse at Sde Teiman. Investigators further alleged that members of the Military Advocate General’s Corps (MAG) had lied to the High Court of Justice when they claimed in an affidavit that the leak did not come from within their ranks.

Then came Sunday afternoon. Rumours spread that Tomer-Yerushalmi might have killed herself by suicide after she had been missing for hours, had reportedly left behind a note telling her family to look to the future and her car had been found near a beach in north Tel Aviv. Police launched a large-scale search involving naval units, drones equipped with thermal sensors, and rescue teams combing the coastline.

Hours later, she was found alive on a beach in Herzliya. Her phone, believed to contain crucial evidence, was missing and remained unaccounted for as of Tuesday. By Sunday night, she had been taken into custody, and the following morning a court extended her remand for three days, with the judge warning that releasing her could jeopardise the investigation.

At first glance, the story looked like a domestic scandal – a senior legal official accused of breaching trust and abusing her authority. One could even frame it as a clash of two sides: on one hand, the soldiers who claim they are being unfairly persecuted for crimes they claim they did not commit; on the other, Tomer-Yerushalmi, who admitted to leaking the video in what she described as an effort to “counter the false propaganda directed against the military law authorities”.

But it is far more than that. Her actions have inflicted enormous damage –  internationally, by undermining Israel’s legal credibility abroad, and domestically, by eroding what little faith remains in its judicial institutions.

The international consequences may take time to measure. One of the bedrock principles of international criminal law is complementary jurisdiction – the idea that international tribunals, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), intervene only when a nation proves unwilling or unable to conduct genuine investigations or prosecutions of serious crimes. In other words, the ICC serves as a court of last resort, meant to complement, not replace, a functioning national judiciary.

Israel has long relied on that principle to defend itself from foreign interference. The government and the IDF have consistently argued that Israel’s prestigious legal system – with its independent Supreme Court, vocal press and internal military investigations – is proof that it can and does hold itself accountable.

Yet that defence now looks weaker than ever. The ICC has already issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. The International Court of Justice continues to deliberate South Africa’s genocide case. These processes were already dismissive of Israel’s claim to self-policing. Now, with the head of the MAG herself accused of leaking sensitive material and lying to Israel’s own High Court, what credibility remains?

If the body tasked with ensuring legal oversight of the IDF cannot be trusted to tell the truth to its own judges, why would the international community believe that its investigations into alleged war crimes in Gaza are conducted in good faith? This case risks becoming a gift to Israel’s adversaries – a validation for those arguing that Israel’s justice system is compromised.

The domestic picture is no less grim. Public confidence in the courts is already at a historic low, below 50 per cent in recent surveys. Much of that mistrust stems from the bitter judicial overhaul crisis that dominated Israel in the year before October 7.

Add to that the ongoing corruption trial of Netanyahu, which to many of his supporters – and even to US President Donald Trump – looks like a politically motivated witch hunt.

Against that backdrop, Tomer-Yerushalmi’s admission that she leaked evidence in a case against IDF reservists feeds directly into the narrative of a “deep state” – an unelected legal oligarchy that operates by its own rules and punishes ideological opponents while shielding its own.

The implications are profound. Every future investigation into misconduct –whether by soldiers in Gaza, police officers in the West Bank, or politicians in Jerusalem – will now be overshadowed by suspicion. Every verdict will invite the question: is this justice or politics?

For a country already fractured, this scandal could not have come at a worse time. Israel is still deployed in Gaza, bracing for a potential new round in Lebanon, and struggling to recover from the trauma of the worst attack in its history. The legal system was one of the few institutions still regarded as capable of self-correction.

The coming weeks will determine whether Tomer-Yerushalmi’s case is an aberration or a symptom of deeper decay. But one thing is already clear: the integrity of Israel’s legal system is not a technical matter. It is a pillar of national security. If Israelis lose faith in their own justice system – and the world loses faith in Israel’s ability to deliver justice – then the damage will extend far beyond the walls of a courtroom. It will reach the very core of Israel’s legitimacy, at home and abroad.

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The writer is a co-founder of the MEAD policy forum, a senior fellow at JPPI, and a former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post. His newest book is ‘While Israel Slept’​