Israel appoints military prosecutor amid leaked rape video scandal
Israel has appointed a new military prosecutor following the resignation of the previous one after a video showing a Palestinian detainee being raped by soldiers was leaked to the media.
Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who has been arrested and is under investigation, will be replaced by Itai Ofir, a former legal adviser.
In a statement after the appointment, the Israeli army said Ofir was Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir’s “leading candidate” for the position. Zamir recommended several people for the role.
Benny Gantz, an opposition leader welcomed the appointment, saying Ofir was a “top-notch professional jurist”.
Israeli outlet Ynet quoted a legal source on his appointment who said Ofir’s “professional shortcoming is that he is not an expert in laws of war”.
Rights groups have repeatedly condemned the Israeli army for failing to properly investigate its soldiers for alleged violations of international humanitarian law and the laws of war, particularly in Gaza since October 2023.
Former UK minister regrets silence over Palestinian nurse’s death, calls Israeli actions ‘murder’
A former Conservative minister has accused Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of killing a young Palestinian nurse.
Alistair Burt, who served as Middle East minister in Theresa May’s government, told the UK newspaper The Independent he now regrets staying silent when 21-year-old medic Razan al-Najjar was fatally shot while treating injured protesters near Gaza’s border in 2018.
Burt said Najjar had been “clearly targeted and murdered”, adding that Israel’s pledges to investigate such incidents were “bogus” attempts to “cover up killings”.
