High Court freezes transfer of Military Advocate General investigation to Esman

The High Court of Justice today (Friday) temporarily froze the transfer of the investigation into the Military Advocate General and the leak of the video to Channel 12 to State Attorney Amit Esman. Justice Dafna Barak-Erez ruled that "out of caution only" and until further notice, the case will not be transferred to Esman at this stage. The decision comes just two weeks after the High Court ruled that the investigation could be transferred to the State Attorney. The previous ruling stated there was no impediment to Esman overseeing the investigation, after his potential conflict of interest was examined.

However, the process is not over. The original petitioners, MK Avichai Boaron, the "We Chose Life" movement, and the Lavi organization, requested a further hearing on the ruling. Following the request, a temporary order was issued freezing the transfer of the case until further notice. The case concerns the investigation into the leak of investigative materials from the Sde Teiman affair. In the previous petition, the petitioners asked, among other things, to intervene in the management of the investigation and to demand additional investigative actions. On this matter, the High Court ruled unanimously that there is no place for the court to instruct the police on which investigative actions to perform.

In another dispute discussed in the same proceeding, the judges were divided on the status of the State Attorney and the need for an external supervisory body. Justice Isaac Amit and Justice Khaled Kabub ruled that Esman is no longer prevented from overseeing the investigation, whereas David Mintz held in a minority opinion that the Minister of Justice should be required to explain why he is not appointing an external party to supervise it.

The High Court froze the transfer of the investigation into the Military Advocate General and the video leak to State Attorney Amit Esman, just two weeks after approving it. The decision was made following a request for a further hearing filed by the petitioners. In the meantime, the investigation remains without being transferred to Esman. Mintz referred to the exceptional sensitivity of the case. He emphasized that this is an investigation concerning the involvement attributed to the head of the IDF law enforcement system in leaking investigative materials and providing false information to the Supreme Court, and in his view, these circumstances required an independent oversight mechanism without the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Conversely, Amit and Kabub believed that developments in the investigation created a new factual basis that allows for the removal of Esman's impediment. According to the ruling, the new opinion on which the decision was based relied on up-to-date and sufficient factual infrastructure, which included conclusions from senior police officials. Now, after the High Court had already ruled that the case could be transferred to Esman, the transfer is frozen again, temporarily and until further notice. The question that remains open is how long the freeze will last and what decision will be made on the request for a further hearing.

The case, which seems far from over, has left the Israeli public with a lack of trust in the system, especially after the cancellation of the indictment against the soldiers of the Force 100 unit and the admission of the former Military Advocate General of her involvement in leaking the video. One of the soldiers told Channel 14 that for him and his friends, the questions surrounding the leak and the conduct with the Attorney General have still not been answered, and that "we have not really returned to routine."

According to him, the soldiers and their lawyers do not intend to let the matter drop from the agenda and are considering protest steps and additional legal proceedings. "It must not be dropped from the agenda," the soldier said, adding that if they go out to protest, they will need the support of the public: "When we go out, we need the people of Israel again. Come with your feet."