Terrorists imprisoned in Israel enjoy access to a variety of cable channels, Im Tirtzu told Army radio on Wednesday.
Im Tirtzu said it was “shameful that terrorists receive lavish benefits that are being paid for by the Israeli taxpayer.”
“We expect the Public Security Minister and the new Prison Service Commissioner to act immediately to cancel the excessive amount of channels available to imprisoned terrorists, especially when it comes to Hamas terrorists. While Hamas is holding captive two Israeli citizens and the bodies of two IDF soldiers, its prisoners are enjoying lavish benefits. This is an absurd situation and we expect it to be dealt with immediately.”
In response to a freedom of information request submitted by Im Tirtzu’s Legal Division, the Israel Prison Service reported that terrorists affiliated with Fatah have access to 10 TV channels while Hamas terrorists have access to only five channels.
Among the channels available are two Israeli sports channels, the Middle East Broadcasting Center’s action and drama channels, National Geographic Abu Dhabi, the Saudi Arabian Rotana Cinema channel, the Lebanese LBC channel, Abu Dhabi TV, and the Palestine channel.
In a letter sent to Im Tirtzu, the IPS stated that “the initiative to limit the channels being offered to security prisoners is important to the Prison Service because it conveys a message of governance and sovereignty in the prisons. Accordingly, approximately 60 channels were removed from the existing options.”
The Prison Service added: “It should be noted that in terms of technology, it’s not always possible to absorb all the existing channels in the package offered in the various regions of the country where the prisons are located. Also, in addition to reducing the variety and the number of TV channels, we maintain full supervision to exclude channels with incitement and damage to the country’s image. Also, no World Cup and no Olympic games…”