Supreme Court Justice Daphne Barak-Erez issued an interim order on Friday staying the transfer of the investigation file of former Military Advocate General (MAG) Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi to the State Attorney’s Office. The order, issued "out of caution only and without taking any position," will remain in effect until further notice or until a decision is reached on a request for a further hearing submitted to the court. This development follows a High Court petition heard two weeks ago, in which petitioners sought changes to the investigation into the leaking of materials from the Military Advocate General’s Corps during the Sde Teiman affair.
In those proceedings, a panel led by Chief Justice Isaac Amit, alongside Justices David Mintz and Khaled Kabub, ruled that there were no grounds for judicial intervention in the discretion of law enforcement authorities or the opinion of the Attorney General’s Office. According to the opinion provided to the court, State Attorney Amit Aisman is not conflicted from overseeing the investigation, as he was not involved in the events in question. Furthermore, the justices emphasized in their ruling that the court does not serve as an investigative body and does not replace the professional discretion of law enforcement agencies.
It was further determined that conditioning the investigation on the appointment of an external supervisor, as requested by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, could grant the political echelon improper influence over the management of criminal investigations. The background to these events lies in the Sde Teiman affair, which began in July 2024 with the investigation of an abuse incident against a detainee and became complex in October 2025 when a criminal investigation was opened into the suspected involvement of Military Advocate General’s Corps officials in leaking videos and covering up proceedings.
Following these findings, Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the dismissal of former MAG Tomer-Yerushalmi, alleging severe misconduct and a breach of trust. This decision follows the legal complexity that arose last March, when the indictment against five reserve soldiers was dropped due to evidentiary difficulties and claims of entrapment, partly resulting from the leaking of sensitive materials that undermined a fair trial. The practical significance of this interim order is to freeze the status quo in the case, preventing the transfer of the file to the State Attorney’s Office and keeping it on hold pending a final decision by the Supreme Court on whether to hold a further hearing in the matter.