A panel set up to review the deployment of IDF soldiers to security prisons, has on Thursday, presented its findings to the ministers of defense and public security, with a recommendation to remove all active duty troops from prison authority positions, Ynet has learned.
The panel was established after allegations surfaced, that female IDF soldiers, working as wardens in security prisons were sexually abused by inmates.
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Gilbo'a Penitentiary, where Mahmoud Atallah alleged to have raped a soldier
(Photo: Nachum Segal)
Recommendations state the military and prison authority should begin phasing out soldiers and replace them with professional personnel from the Prison Authority with special training.
The panel also said that the Israel Prison Service has substantially improved safety and security since the allegations came to light, for members of the military, with a special emphasis placed on the prevention of such incidents.
The report also recommended when necessary, to use soldiers for security duty when prisoners are being transported and deploy them only to facilities where the IDF has predominate responsibility over security prisoners.
"Maintaining adequate service parameters for all conscripted IDF soldiers stands at the heart of our moral obligation as a country, as well as our capability to maintain the security of the state of Israel. Those are issues of paramount importance," Defense Minister Benny Gantz said.
"I accept the recommendations of the panel" Public Security Minister Omer Barlev who is responsible for the Prison Authority said. "We need to have correctional officers with specialized training and I hope that the Finance Ministry will allocate the necessary funds to allow that transition to take place," he said.
This committee was founded after a State Comptroller report that found that one in every four female soldiers serving in prisons, experienced some form of sexual assault. The report, dubbed as "the 'me too' of the police and Israel Prison Service", claimed that no one in authority, protected the soldiers.
An investigation by the police, is still underway to determine whether criminal charges should be brought against Gilboa prison commanders, where a women who had served had alleged that she was raped by a Mahmoud Atallah, a Palestinian terrorist.
She was assigned, the allegations said, to the prisoner at his demand, as prison officers' hoped to appease the terrorist and maintain calm among inmates.