Former senior defense officials have warned the security system could be forced to release hundreds of terrorists from Israeli prisons if a bill seeking to extend the application of Israeli civil and criminal law in Judea and Samaria is not renewed by June 30.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
In an urgent missive to Defense Minister Benny Gantz, the Bithonistim security and defense forum warned Israel could find itself with thousands of terrorists it is unable to hold inside Israel and will only be able to imprison in Judea and Samaria. They further warned that a failure to pass the emergency regulations for Judea and Samaria could do significant damage to the work of the Shin Bet security agency.
In their letter to Gantz, Lt. Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch, Brig. Gen. (res.) and Bithonistim CEO Amir Avivi, and Maj. Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen wrote: "These suspects are not detained by the power of Israeli law but rather by virtue of the powers established in the legislation of the language of the Security Department's standards. The problem in this context, then, is clear: Israeli law determines that authorities cannot hold a detained main without authority or a source of authority anchored in a Knesset law. A similar problem concerns the investigation itself. The regulations regulate the accompanying investigative powers required by the investigative authorities."
The senior figures warned that at any given time, between 3,000 and 3,500 terrorists are held in Israeli prisons. "While a solution can be found, even in a relatively short timeframe, for the continued existence of investigative procedures at facilities in Judea and Samaria, it is far more difficult to find a place in Judea and Samaria for the continued detention of thousands of terrorist prisoners."
To date, there is just one prison in Judea and Samaria, Ofer Prison.
The Ofer Prison is not suited to detaining serious terrorists and "certainly does not have the room to add thousands of detained terrorists and other prisoners," the officials said.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
