Female soldiers will no longer serve as guards in security prisons after one is suspected of having intimate relations with a convicted Palestinian Authority terrorist.
Israel Prison Service Commissioner Katy Perry and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced the move immediately after news of the latest prison sex scandal broke this weekend. The long-planned decision had been held up by manpower issues but will be implemented this week.
Over the past year, the guard in question, who is nearing the end of her mandatory service, allegedly established intimate ties with the prisoner, a Fatah member convicted of involvement in a terrorist attack in central Israel that led to the deaths of Israelis.
The Prison Service suspects that a consensual physical interaction occurred between the guard and the prisoner, Ynet reported.
The guard’s lawyer has denied that his client had a consensual relationship with the prisoner, saying she was threatened into allowing his abusive behavior.
A court gag order has been imposed on the case pending the police investigation.
The terrorist has been placed in solitary confinement.
