Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday harshly criticized outgoing Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, calling her the source of “the worst public relations disaster Israel has ever experienced” following her admission of authorizing a leak of sensitive footage purportedly showing soldiers abusing a Palestinian inmate in the Sde Teiman detention center.

Speaking at the weekly Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu addressed the resignation letter submitted by Tomer-Yerushalmi, in which she acknowledged giving permission to release material to the media, taking full responsibility for the leak.

“The incident in Sde Teiman caused enormous damage to the image of the State of Israel and the IDF,” Netanyahu said. “It may be the worst public relations disaster Israel has ever faced. I don’t recall a case with such concentrated intensity. This demands an independent, external investigation, and I expect one to be carried out.”

Tomer-Yerushalmi had claimed in her resignation that the decision was made against the backdrop of what she described as a “smear campaign” against the military prosecution, but she did not address previous false statements given to the High Court of Justice and to then-defense minister Yoav Gallant. Nor did she explain the military’s internal probe, which appeared to be a sham effort conducted by her own office to identify the source of the leak.

The officer who exposed the affair was detained at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv and later...

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