“Direct responsibility”: the head of the penitentiary services accuses the director of Gilboa of being in prison

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Israeli Prison Service Commissioner Katy Perry criticized Gilboa Prison Director Freddy Ben Shitrit over last year’s prison break of six Palestinian terrorists, in testimony Wednesday before a committee investigation to examine the matter.

“It is obvious and simple not to put two prisoners listed as ‘at high risk of escape’ in the same cell for nine months, it is the direct responsibility of the prison commander,” Perry told the commission.

The daring escape last September, which ended with the capture of the last two escaped detainees some two weeks later, was seen as a major failure and embarrassment to the Israeli prison service. The prisoners reportedly dug the tunnel for months before the escape, using plates, handle grips, construction debris and part of a metal hanger.

“I have come under harsh and scathing criticism, some during a time when I was not in office,” Perry said Wednesday. “The Gilboa incident is a serious accident, and we have a long way to go to address it.”

At no point during his testimony did Perry take responsibility for the escape. “I took up my post after two years as interim commissioner… and two years before the IPS was without a stable. [chain of] order. In practice, there have been four years without a permanent commissioner, ”she declared.

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Ben Shitrit claimed in November that he had been “marked” by Perry as “the person responsible for the incident”, and said she tried to oust him before the event even became the subject of of an investigation.

Police officers and prison guards inspect the scene of a prison escape outside Gilboa prison in northern Israel on Monday, September 6, 2021. (AP / Sebastian Scheiner)

Five of the six detainees who escaped were members of the Islamic Jihad terrorist group, as well as notorious Fatah terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi.

Several had been convicted of capital crimes and were serving life sentences. Four of the prisoners were captured in northern Israel in the first week, but two more traveled to Jenin, in the northern West Bank, and hid there until their arrest on September 19.

The escape revealed a series of prison failures, including a failure to learn from previous escape attempts and several operational errors, such as unmanned watchtowers and sleeping guards.

During Ben Shitrit’s testimony last year on the prison breakout, he dropped explosive remarks regarding allegations that officers “approximated” female soldiers to Palestinian terrorist detainees at Gilboa prison in order to keep the prisoners happy.

The female soldiers first alleged in 2018 that they were forced to come into close contact with prisoners as a bargaining chip, which resulted in them being harassed and assaulted, but the case was closed due to lack of evidence.

Police officers and prison guards inspect the scene of a prison escape outside Gilboa prison in northern Israel on Monday, September 6, 2021. (AP / Sebastian Scheiner)

Since Ben Shitrit – who was not in prison when the incidents allegedly took place – testified, calls have increased for the case to be reopened. The existing commission of inquiry said it would not investigate the allegations about the female soldiers.

State prosecutors have since ordered police to reopen an investigation into the allegations.

These reports alleged that an intelligence officer, Rani Basha, placed female guards in the facility’s security wing at the behest of a convicted terrorist.

In an interview with Channel 12, Basha denied the allegations, saying they “are not true” and that the female soldiers had in fact been “agents” charged – with their full consent – to extract information from the detainees. . Perry last month ordered the start of the process to oust Basha.

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