Comptroller Matanyahu Englman stated on Tuesday that his office will consider reviewing the circumstances of the release of Al Shifa Hospital director Muhammed Abu Salmiya from prison on Monday. "There is concern that there was an oversight on a few aspects during his release," he said.
According to the comptroller, "Serious crimes were committed in Al Shifa Hospital. The hospital director, apprehended by the IDF in November, bears responsibility. His release this week, alongside the release of other terrorists, has led to accusations between ministers and senior security officials."
"The discourse between the government and security organizations on this matter raises concerns that there was no due process," Englman elaborated. "Therefore, I intend to request the prime minister to receive the investigations that will be turned in concerning the release of terrorists. After reviewing these investigations, we will consider the need to deal with the matter. It is crucial to ensure that the decision-making process here does not point to a deeper issue in security decision-making processes."
The comptroller commented on the transfer of responsibility over security prisoners from the IDF to the Israel Prison Service, mentioning the 2022 report. "The November 2022 report revealed a troubling behavior directed at female soldiers serving in prison facilities and a lack of support from the commanders for soldiers working with security prisoners."
Englman added later that "after review panel met with soldiers who served in prisons which hold security prisoners, the State Comptroller's Office sent them questionnaires. The questionnaires found that 38% of them reported experiencing one or more instances of sexual harassment, some of the prisoners are in for sexual violence cases. With the transfer of responsibility to the prison service, I expect the prison service to draw lessons from our report. I intend to follow up on this issue to ensure that all prison officers and wardens in security detention facilities are protected."
Three months ago, the comptroller referred to the fact that the IDF had ordered cadets to guard the terrorists, despite the November 2022 report. He clarified then that "this contradicts the report meant to protect female soldiers that we published just over a year ago, indicating that no lessons were learned from the comprehensive report."
Officials in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office addressed the release of Mohammed Abu Salmiya from custody. According to them, prisoners were supposed to be released due to the evacuation of Sde Teiman. The National Security Council requested the IDF and Shin Bet produce a list of names of prisoners that could be released and the Al Shifa Hospital director was released without a decision being made.
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Every security organization claims it's not their fault
(Photo: Elad Malka, IDF Spokesperson's Unit, Yair Sagi, Marc Israel Sellem, Amit Shabi, Olivier Fitoussi)
The Shin Bet has warned in the past regarding its prison's holding capacity, "For about a year, the Shin Bet has been warning in every possible discussion, about the prison crisis and the need to increase holding capacity. Unfortunately, these appeals, which were made to all relevant authorities, including the National Security Ministry, did not yield results, and holding capacity has not increased. Without an immediate solution to the prison crisis, arrests will continue to be canceled and detainees will continue to be released."
Following this, the Israel Prison Service published the release order of the Al Shifa director and dismissed allegations that it was responsible, pointing out there is no holding capacity crisis. The prison service released unusual footage from Abu Salmiya's cell to prove there was no prison crisis. National Security Ministry Itamar Ben-Gvir accused Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar of releasing the high-profile prisoner and even claimed that Bar "threatened me and did this intentionally."