Attorneys (front row) and Unit 100 soldiers from the Sde Teiman base; Photo credit: Elazar Riger
Thursday, March 19, 2026, 21:00 After months of a determined legal and public battle, the indictment of the IDF Unit 100 soldiers in the Sde Teiman case was dismissed. This evening, the soldiers, their families, and their attorneys gathered at the Urshalim events hall in Rishon LeTzion to celebrate, thank the public for their support, and give official statements at a press conference.
Participants included Honenu Director, Shmuel (Zangi) Meidad; his wife, Etti; Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Gila Gamliel; Honenu Attorneys Adi Keidar, Moshe Poleski, Nati Rom and Menashe Yado. Attorneys Efraim Dimri, Hovev Dimri, Avi Amiram, and Lior Porat were also in attendance.
The soldiers appeared in front of the cameras and talked about the hard feelings that had accompanied them from the time of their widely publicized arrest until their greatly anticipated acquittal. IDF Unit 100 team commander, Major A. said, “Today is a day of joy, but also of heartbreak. … It is unacceptable that an enlisted soldier who fights and risks his life must retain a lawyer. We will bring about a change and make the correction that the State of Israel needs.”
A member of the team, soldier A., described his feelings at the time of the arrest: “They came to arrest us at the IDF base, our second home, as if we were hardened criminals. It was like a knife in the heart of every soldier. Our families heard on the news that we had been arrested. In the midst of this darkness we discovered the strength of unity. Your support was our oxygen. This evening is not only closure. It is the start of a new chapter. We will not be silent to those who defamed us. We will close accounts with whomever celebrated our misfortune. We will not allow what happened to be covered up.”
Hila, A’s wife, underscored that “the dismissal of the charges does not close the case as far as we are concerned. We deserve a different conclusion and we will make sure that there is one. The entire truth must come out and everyone who had a hand in the injustice must not be allowed to escape responsibility. We will not be silent and we will not stop until the complete prosecution of former Chief Military Advocate Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, of everyone was party to the mendacious and criminal leak against the soldiers, and everyone who repeated the lies and defamed the soldiers, their families, and the entire State of Israel to serve an agenda at our expense. This story is not over. It has just begun.”
The attorneys who represented the soldiers from the moment of their arrest until the charges against them were dismissed welcomed the decision to cancel the indictment against the soldiers and explained its significance.
Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar called for the dismissal of all cases against IDF soldiers: “This incident is not a victory, but rather a case that should have never happened. Whoever thinks that this is an isolated incident, is deeply mistaken. Ever since the war broke out, Honenu has provided legal counsel to soldiers interrogated over operational incidents. This must stop. The changes and stable-cleaning in the Military Advocate General have only just begun. That the Unit 100 case is a model of how things should be must sink in deeply. An overhaul is necessary, and I call on the current Chief Military Advocate to carry it out.”
Attorney Efraim Dimri stated, “We hope that at the end of the day, everyone who harmed the soldiers and their families will be punished. Our soldiers are beloved heroes, and anyone who frames them will, in the end, be placed behind bars. We will insist on it. This is only the start of our battle. Our soldiers must not be harmed. We support immunity for IDF combat soldiers. Every soldier who goes into battle must know that he has immunity and that nobody will be able to harm him.”
Honenu Attorney Moshe Poleski: “The Unit 100 case reveals that beyond isolated failures, there is a distortion of ethics that at times exists in the various law enforcement authorities. This distortion has reached an extreme: Based on a warped morality, they dared to make false accusations. In this case, not only the attorneys were on the side of the soldiers, but all of Israel supported them and raised a clear call of ‘We are with you.’ It is time for the Military Advocate General and the law enforcement authorities to plot a new path and decide who is on our side and who is against us.”
Honenu Attorney Nati Rom: “Dismissing the indictment against our heroic soldiers was a necessary step that should have been taken a long time ago. One must also remember that this is the only first step on the way to erasing the disgrace caused by this case. We will not stop until the job is done, until the soldiers have returned to full service and until everyone who leaked evidence and corrupted the investigation is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Honenu Attorney Menashe Yado described the civil suit filed by the soldiers, “The indictment was a terrible, horrible act. Although there was no supporting evidence, the soldiers were arrested for rape. On the day of the arrest, the Military Advocate General did not even take testimony from the complainant. They do not even have a claim of rape! The indictment against the soldiers is fundamentally invalid. The then Chief Military Advocate conducted a hearing while she herself had leaked a video to the press. The Attorney General and the State Attorney did not open an investigation. We end this day with a good conclusion that is a beginning. We call for a decisive battle to reveal the truth and compensate the Unit 100 soldiers.”
Attorney Avi Amiram of the Office of the Military Advocate for Operational Affairs represented some of the Unit 100 soldiers. He underscored that there was no evidence of rape in the case and demanded an investigation of how the indictment was filed: “This case started without evidence. Whoever labeled these soldiers as rapists and sodomizers did not know the facts. A committee will be founded to investigate how the soldiers were tagged as rapists. The Sde Teiman case shook all of us, and it must be fully examined. There are a myriad of questions, puzzling occurrences, pieces of evidence, and distortions in the case. We must not simply go on with our lives. We will continue the battle until we arrive at the facts and an investigatory committee is established. At the end of the day, we will receive answers as to how it happened.”
Attorney Hovev Dimri stated, “Many people hoped that we would not reach this moment. They – the military justice system, the media that worked with them, and the radical left-wing people who tried to stop the war – they tried to bury the soldiers alive. They wanted us to opt for a plea bargain. We did not agree, thanks to Honenu, the attorneys, the supportive media channels, and our people in the government. We are not alone. Thanks to the soldiers, an opportunity has arisen to ensure that nothing like this will happen again, that the judicial system will be fair, just, and transparent. We thank you.”
The event ended with mixed feelings. For the Unit 100 soldiers, this evening is a sign not only of the end of complex legal proceedings, but also of their complete return to family and public life. Their reputation has been completely restored. However, the battle to prevent similar incidents has just begun. The soldiers must also receive suitable compensation.