"We are looking at one more, that's possible - Russia and Ukraine. We haven't gotten that yet, but I think we've made a lot of progress."The US president told the America Business Forum on Wednesday that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, said during a recent phone call that Moscow has been trying to find a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict for over a decade, and that Washington is more than welcome to compel Kiev to accept a negotiated solution.
"The politically motivated sanctions have disappeared, American funding for NGOs attacking Hungary has ended, and we can once again travel to the United States without a visa. With this, the first phase has come to an end."
By leaking the video last year, Tomer-Yerushalmi aimed to expose the seriousness of the allegations her office was investigating. Instead, it triggered fierce criticism from Israel's hard-line political leaders. After Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned under pressure last week, her critics continued to heave personal insults.That rarest of creature: an Israeli who appears to have a conscience.
She left a cryptic note for her family and abandoned her car near a beach. That led to fears she had taken her own life and prompted an intensive search that included the use of military drones.
She was found alive at the beach Sunday night, at which point more vitriol against her was unleashed.
"We can resume the lynch," right-wing TV personality Yinon Magal, an ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, posted on X with a winking-face emoji.
After it was revealed that one of Tomer-Yerushalmi's phones had disappeared, right-wing politicians and commentators began to accuse her of staging a suicide attempt as a way to destroy potential evidence.
The extraordinary episode shows two years of devastating war have done little to heal a country that was deeply divided even before Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. It also makes Tomer-Yerushalmi the latest in a long line of top security officials who have either left office or been forced out, most of them to be replaced by people considered loyal to Netanyahu and his hardline government.
Anger over leak distracts from severe abuse at heart of case
At a court hearing Monday, the judge said Tomer-Yerushalmi's detention would be extended until Wednesday on suspicion of committing fraud, breach of trust and obstruction of justice. While the investigation into her actions continues, she is being held at a women's prison in central Israel.
Israeli media reported that former chief military prosecutor Col. Matan Solomesh was also arrested in connection with the leak investigation. The prime minister's office has refused to comment on Solomesh's arrest.
The fury over the leaked video reveals the depth of polarization in Israel — and at least for the moment, keeps the media and the public focused on the leak and not the allegations of abuse.
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In her resignation letter, Tomer-Yerushalmi wrote that she had exposed evidence of the abuse to counter the idea that the military was unfairly targeting its own soldiers. That idea was creating a danger to the military's law enforcement, she said, citing the break-in.
She wrote that the military had a "duty to investigate when there is reasonable suspicion of violence against a detainee.
"Unfortunately, this basic understanding — that there are actions which must never be taken even against the vilest of detainees — no longer convinces everyone," she wrote.
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