IDF legal chief avoided Gaza war crimes probes, citing right-wing backlash, sources say

Israeli legal chief avoided war crimes probes ’fearing backlash’

The Israeli army's former legal chief, who recently resigned over leaked footage showing Palestinian detainees being sexually abused, held back from investigating war crimes in Gaza, Haaretz has revealed. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi refrained from investigating the abuses out of fear of right-wing backlash, senior army reserve and investigative officers told the Israeli news outlet. One officer cited by Haaretz recalled feeling uncomfortable with Tom…

IDF legal chief avoided Gaza war crimes probes, citing right-wing backlash, sources say

After resigning last week over the Sde Teiman affair leak, the IDF legal chief, senior sources told Haaretz, used 'various pretexts to avoid opening or advancing investigations 'into numerous IDF abuses in Gaza, including the army's March 2025 killing of 15 medical personnel and a 2024 airstrike that killed seven World Central Kitchen volunteers