The IDF said that Ofir\u2019s decision to cancel the charges came in the wake of \u201csignificant developments\u201d in the case since the indictment was filed, and following a review of all considerations, evidence, and relevant circumstances.<\/p>\n
A document summarizing the reasons behind Ofir\u2019s decision to cancel the charges listed several factors, including \u201ccomplexity regarding the existing evidence,\u201d and the release of the detainee himself back to Gaza in the October 2025 ceasefire, without him testifying on the matter.<\/p>\n
It also cited an \u201cabuse of process\u201d claim by the defendants against the indictments \u2014 in reference to the scandal involving the leak by the former military advocate general of security camera footage from Sde Teiman purportedly showing the abuse, which the defendants claimed compromised the legal process.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n Ofir\u2019s decision also took into consideration \u201cprocedural difficulties\u201d regarding the transfer of investigative materials from the police investigation, \u201cin a manner that harms the defendants\u2019 right to a fair trial.\u201d<\/p>\n The Prime Minister\u2019s Office and several cabinet ministers all hailed the cancellation of the indictments, with the PMO and others calling the charges against the five \u201ca blood libel\u201d that damaged Israel\u2019s international image.<\/p>\n \t Meanwhile, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel accused Ofir of whitewashing the abuse and said that the detainee\u2019s hospitalization following the alleged assault proved the gravity of the abuse he had suffered.<\/p>\n A six-page document summarizing the decision issued by the IDF on Thursday acknowledged that the detainee\u2019s initial testimony to investigators, the medical records of his injuries, and the security camera footage \u201cpresented a grave and troubling picture\u201d of the defendants\u2019 actions.<\/p>\n It said, however, that the video footage was not conclusive, since the guards seen in it blocked the camera\u2019s view of the incident with their riot shields. It noted that the detainee gave differing versions of the events to different officials.<\/p>\n The fact that the detainee was released back to Gaza in October 2025 meant it would be significantly harder to prove the charges in the indictment, the document added.<\/p>\n The summary also stated that since it was not certain the detainee could now testify in the case and be cross-examined by defense lawyers, the defendants\u2019 ability to receive a fair trial had been harmed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe accumulation of all these exceptional circumstances, and their impact on the fundamental and basic right to a fair trial, requires, in the view of the military advocate general, the cancellation of the indictment,\u201d the IDF said in announcing the decision.<\/p>\n The military stated that Ofir had updated IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on the decision, and that Zamir \u201csupports, appreciates, and backs the military advocate general and expressed to him his appreciation for the process carried out since he entered the position.\u201d<\/p>\n The IDF added that \u201cin light of the serious professional failure that was revealed\u201d in the case, Zamir had also \u201cinstructed that lessons be learned and that all necessary steps be taken to prevent similar cases in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sde Teiman scandal has repeatedly roiled the country since it became public in July 2024.<\/p>\n \t Several coalition MKs and even a cabinet minister broke into<\/a> the Sde Teiman military base when the suspects were arrested on July 29, 2024, in an apparent effort to halt the arrests, and right-wing activists then broke into a second military base<\/a> where the suspects were held in detention and tussled with IDF soldiers there. No indictments were brought against any of those who broke into those bases.<\/p>\n The arrests came in the wake of numerous media reports,<\/a> based on testimony<\/a> from Israeli officials and Palestinian detainees, of severe cases of abuse and even torture at Sde Teiman. A recent report <\/a>by Israel\u2019s Public Defender\u2019s Office corroborated these allegations.<\/p>\n The footage purportedly showing the abuse was then leaked to Channel 12, causing further outrage both from those horrified by the apparent abuse and from others protesting the leak itself, claiming it created a false impression.<\/p>\n The scandal intensified when, in late October 2025, then-military advocate general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi became the prime suspect in the leak she was herself ostensibly investigating. Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned from her post and admitted to leaking the video. She is now facing criminal proceedings.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/23455321-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tA still from a leaked video broadcast by Channel 12 news on August 6, 2024, which purports to show troops abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention facility in southern Israel on July 5, 2024. (Screenshot: Channel 12)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP24152564076404-e1717259779356-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tBlindfolded Palestinians captured in the Gaza Strip in a detention facility on the Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel, winter 2023. (Breaking The Silence via AP)<\/p>\n
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