Israeli Supreme Court Blocks Justice Minister from Controlling Military Prosecutor Investigation Amid Political Tensions

The Israeli Supreme Court rejected petitions on Tuesday seeking to keep the investigation of the "Sdeh Yemen" case under Justice Minister Yariv Levin's control. The court ruled that State Attorney Amit Isman is cleared of improper involvement and may oversee the probe as a "supervising prosecutor." Justices President Yitzhak Amit and Khaled Kabub supported this position, while dissenting Justice David Mintz upheld the "Buaron ruling," which criticized political interference by the justice minister in criminal investigations.

The controversy centers on the military prosecution office (Petzar) and follows a leaked video scandal that opponents of Government Legal Advisor Gali Baharav-Miara used to implicate her in wrongdoing. After the government failed to remove Baharav-Miara due to procedural flaws in the dismissal process, the "Sdeh Yemen" affair became a new avenue to target her. However, law enforcement concluded that neither Baharav-Miara nor State Attorney Isman were involved in misconduct.

Meanwhile, the government passed a new law to bypass the traditional enforcement chain, allowing the Police Investigations Department (Mahash) to operate independently of the justice minister. MK Moshe Saada, who initiated the law, openly stated its purpose was to prosecute Baharav-Miara, effectively cementing the dangerous precedent set by the Supreme Court's Buaron ruling.

The case involving alleged abuse by members of Unit 100 was closed after the victim was returned to Gaza, while new victims emerged, and the accused officers became government and media heroes. The military prosecution office leaked the video to justify investigating the case, but this backfired, turning the prosecutor into the main defendant and potentially implicating Baharav-Miara as well.

Justice Mintz insists the prosecution should remain barred from supervising the investigation to prevent politicization, warning this stance might delay decisions. President Amit countered that the petitions aim to grant Levin authority to indefinitely stall the probe and keep a cloud over Baharav-Miara until the new Mahash can prosecute her after the elections.