Gilboa Prison Commander, Colonel Freddy Ben Sheetrit, on Wednesday testified before the government investigation committee into the escape of six terrorist prisoners from Gilboa Prison and admitted for the first time that IDF female conscripts had been sent out to meet the needs of terrorists. The sordid episode was denied vehemently by the Israel Prisons Service in June 2018 when it had been revealed by Channel 20 correspondent Liran Levy.
“They pimped out the conscript female soldiers who served at the prison, to provide female soldiers to terrorists to satisfy their urges. This pimping out was a groundbreaking event,” Ben Sheetrit told the committee. It should be noted that at least the specific event took place before his appointment.
The 2018 Channel 20 report revealed that the terrorist who demanded the female soldiers was Muhammad Atallah, a senior Fatah terrorist residing in Gilboa Prison having been sentenced to life plus 15 years.
After first attacking the messenger, accusing Levy of lying, IPS spokesperson Assaf Liberty apologized to him, saying, “Liran, I do not know the details, they will investigate and find out and we will not compromise or cover-up. The appointment of an investigating officer is proof of this. I owe you an apology for my assault on you, I admit I did not believe it and still find it hard to believe. The most important thing is to treat those who were harmed and at the same time find out the truth.”
למי שלא מכיר. זו הפרשה שחשפתי ביוני 2018https://t.co/GbO8RqIUea
— לירן לוי Liran Levi (@liran__levi)
Haaretz, which reported at length on the prison commander’s testimony on Wednesday, buried the pimping story way down, in the fifteenth paragraph.
Otzma Yehudit Chairman MK Itamar Ben Gvir responded: “It’s Sodom and Gomorrah in the State of Israel. If in prison the female soldiers were pimped out to satisfy the needs of damned terrorists, it is horrifying. A state commission of inquiry must be set up to investigate this heinous crime.”
Im Tirtzu Chairman Matan Peleg also called for an investigating committee and added: “For several years now, we have been warning and banging on doors in the face of the shameful failures at the IPS. Opening bank accounts for terrorists in prison in cooperation with the Postal Bank, summer camp conditions for terrorists, some of which are yet to be changed, and now the shocking sexual exploitation, all of these are just the tip of the iceberg.”