Israel to appoint new army lawyer after Palestinian prisoner rape scandal

The Israeli military is set to appoint a new advocate general after a scandal forced the resignation of its top lawyer, who admitted to leaking footage apparently showing soldiers raping a Palestinian detainee.

Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi stepped down on Friday after confirming her involvement in leaking surveillance video from the notorious Sde Teiman detention camp during Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.

The footage, published in August last year, purportedly showed a group of soldiers at Sde Teiman gang-raping a Palestinian detainee while forming a human barrier around him.

The leak came amid backlash from ultranationalist Israelis over a military investigation into the assault. 

Tomer-Yerushalmi said the video was released to the press to counter pressure from far-right groups attacking the military advocate general's office.

At least nine Israeli soldiers were questioned over the assault in late July, sparking widespread anger across Israel. 

Only five were indicted for "severe abuse" of the detainee, but not for rape. The trial remains ongoing.

On Sunday, the accused soldiers called for the case to be dropped.

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