Netanyahu speaks out on Israel’s ‘most serious’ PR attack

The leak of a video allegedly showing Israeli soldiers sexually abusing a Palestinian prisoner is the “most serious public relations attack against Israel,” Benjamin Netanyahu has said.

The footage, filmed at the Sde Teiman base near the Gaza border, showed soldiers leading a blindfolded detainee away and surrounding him with riot shields as they allegedly carried out the abuse. Leaked to Israel’s Channel 12, it aired in August 2024 and caused an uproar.

The detainee was later treated for a ruptured bowel, severe anal and lung injuries, and broken ribs. Five reservists were initially probed for rape, but their charges were later downgraded to “severe abuse,” according to a February indictment. All denied the charges, and the trial is ongoing.

The scandal reignited on Friday after the Israel Defense Force’s (IDF) top military lawyer, Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, admitted that she had approved the video’s release and resigned from her post.

At a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu decried the scandal, saying the leak “caused enormous reputational damage to Israel, to the IDF, and to our soldiers.”

“It is perhaps the most serious public relations attack Israel has experienced since its founding – I cannot recall one so concentrated and intense,” Netanyahu said, as cited by The Times of Israel, and called for “an independent and impartial inquiry.”

The leak followed the arrest of the reservists accused of abuse, which sparked right-wing riots demanding their release. In her resignation letter, Tomer-Yerushalmi said she leaked the video amid pressure to halt the investigation into the incident, insisting her duty was to act on “reasonable suspicion of violence against a detainee.”

Multiple right-wing politicians, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, have since claimed the release of the footage from security cameras amounted to a “blood libel” against falsely accused soldiers, despite their indictments. Last week, a criminal investigation was launched into the leak.

The case drew sharp criticism from a UN commission investigating Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, which said it “represented the tip of the iceberg.” It noted that detainees at Sde Teiman and other Israeli detention sites were routinely shackled, beaten, and subjected to acts of sexual nature. These and other findings earlier this year prompted the UN to accuse Israel of genocide against Palestinians.