Military Advocate General's case in Sde Teiman affair moves toward plea deal

Following the Supreme Court's decision allowing the State Attorney's Office to resume handling the Military Advocate General's case, legal sources indicate that the suspended Military Advocate General, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, is likely to receive a plea deal offer. She is expected to admit to the charges, effectively closing the case and allowing her to return to her daily routine.

A senior legal source told News 14 this evening:

"In the State Attorney's Office and the Military Advocate General's Office, they do not want to conduct a trial in which the Military Advocate General has already admitted to the offenses attributed to her. The case is in a coma, and opening it will open Pandora's boxes."

The source notes that a plea deal will distance the Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, from the possibility of being forced to provide her version of events, which could potentially lead to her own investigation under caution.

"The report has one very simple interpretation," says attorney David Peter. "No one wants the Attorney General to give her version before the court, and this is clear to anyone familiar with the event. Neither do other senior officials in the Military Advocate General's Office."

"These are personal, extraneous considerations; they are exactly the basis of the conflict of interest for which a sweeping prevention was imposed on the entire leadership of the State Attorney's Office, until recently when Yitzhak Amit effectively removed this cloud and allowed the State Attorney's Office to complete the work," continued Peter. "And when I say 'complete the work,' this is not the work of investigation and prosecution, but the work of a cover-up. It is clear to everyone in the State of Israel that there is no intention to open this Pandora's box."

Supreme Court Decision

The Supreme Court rejected the petition regarding the management of the investigation into the leak of the fabricated tape against soldiers from the 100th Company in the Sde Teiman affair. The three judges — Yitzhak Amit, David Mintz, and Khaled Kabub — determined unanimously that the court should not instruct the police on which investigative actions to perform.

Furthermore, Amit and Kabub determined that the State Attorney is no longer prevented from accompanying the investigation and that no additional time should be granted to the Minister of Justice to appoint an inspector. Meanwhile, Mintz held in a minority opinion that the minister should be ordered to explain why he is not appointing an external party to supervise. The implication of the decision is that the Military Advocate General's case, which was removed from the State Attorney's Office due to a severe conflict of interest, will return to their hands with the backing of the Supreme Court.