Former Military Advocate Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi Nears Plea Deal in Shde Yemen Case

Following a recent Supreme Court ruling allowing the prosecution to resume involvement in the case against former military advocate Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, a senior legal source indicates she is likely to accept a plea bargain. The case, related to the Shde Yemen affair, had been sidelined due to concerns over conflicts of interest, but the court's decision now permits the prosecution to proceed. The plea deal would involve Tomer-Yerushalmi admitting to the charges against her, enabling her to conclude the matter and return to normal life.

A senior legal official told Channel 14 that both the civilian and military prosecution offices prefer to avoid a full trial, which could "open Pandora's boxes." The plea agreement is also expected to prevent the State Attorney Gali Baharav-Miara from having to provide her own testimony, which could potentially lead to her being investigated under caution.

The Supreme Court ruling, delivered unanimously by Justices Itzhak Amit, David Mintz, and Khaled Kabub, rejected a petition challenging the continuation of the investigation into the leaked recording scandal involving the IDF's Unit 100 in the Shde Yemen case. The court emphasized that it is not the judiciary's role to dictate investigative actions to the police. While Justices Amit and Kabub ruled that the State Attorney may now oversee the investigation and denied the Justice Minister further time to appoint an external supervisor, Justice Mintz dissented, suggesting the minister should justify not appointing an external overseer.

This ruling effectively returns control of the case to the prosecution, which had previously been removed due to conflict of interest concerns. The development signals a significant step toward resolving the case through a plea deal rather than a protracted trial.