Israel Police Under Investigation for Privacy Breach in Yahalomi Case

Israel's Privacy Protection Authority has ordered an urgent internal investigation into the police following a significant breach of privacy concerning Mali and Liel Yahalomi. The demand stems from a widespread leak of videos, personal messages, and sensitive financial information from the police investigation directly to the media.

Head of the Authority, Adv. Gilad Samama, formally requested that Police Commissioner R.N.C. Daniel Levi and the police's internal privacy supervisor, C.C. George Kivorkian, use their oversight powers to probe the matter. The leak began after the two women were located in Argentina on August 14, 2026, with subsequent media reports including confidential case materials.

Among the leaked materials that angered the Authority were videos of the women being located on a bus and questioned, their private communications, AI searches they conducted, and personal financial data, location details, and their exact landing date in Israel. The Authority's review suggests the police are the source of at least some of the information released to the public.

As part of the directive, the police's internal privacy officer must conduct a comprehensive review to determine how the materials reached the media against regulations and whether privacy considerations were assessed before publication. The police are also required to develop a systemic lessons-learned plan to prevent future occurrences and submit the full findings to the Authority.

Samama stated that while the importance of publicizing the location and well-being of missing persons is understood, the release of vulnerable videos and personal details is problematic. He asserted that these publications allegedly caused significant privacy damage without legitimate justification and seemingly in violation of police procedures, necessitating lessons learned to protect citizens' fundamental right to privacy.