Palestinian detainee allegedly abused by five IDF soldiers at Sde Teiman returned to Gaza
The alleged abuse of the terrorist appears in the leaked Sde Teiman video central in the scandal around military advocate-general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi’s resignation.
The Palestinian detainee who was allegedly abused by five IDF soldiers at Sde Teiman was returned by the military to Gaza in October as part of the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages.
Despite the intense interest and scrutiny surrounding the case, the IDF did not publicize its decision to release the detainee at the time.
His release was leaked to the media, and at the time of writing, the IDF still had not explained why he was released if he was needed as a critical witness in the case against the five IDF soldiers.
Further, the IDF had not explained why he, reportedly, was not even questioned about the incident.
Later, the IDF responded to inquiries on the matter, accusing the Shin bet and the Israel Prisons Service of releasing the detainee.
Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who resigned as IDF Military Advocate General on October 31, pictured on September 18, 2025 in Jerusalem. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
However, the Jerusalem Post pointed out to the IDF spokesperson’s office that it was the IDF legal division who had chosen not to question the detainee for over a year since the incident in July 2024, and who also decided not to question him even once they started to learn that he might soon be released to Gaza.
The IDF spokesperson had no explanation to address these issues, raising larger questions about who decided not to question him and why.
According to the indictment, among the five IDF soldiers, they took part in different aspects of beating him and breaking several of his ribs, as well as shoving an object up his anus.
Video involving terrorist center of leak scandal surrounding ex-military advocate-general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi
The news about his release broke as the country has been battered with dramatic development after development regarding the fate of former IDF military advocate-general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who resigned last Friday after admitting to illegally leaking a video allegedly showing the five IDF soldiers beating the detainee.
The video would be expected to be presented at trial, but it is illegal for law enforcement to leak such evidentiary material before the trial.
Some supporters of the IDF legal division have said that the defendants had been presented with the video before it was leaked, which might reduce the severity of their alleged violation.
