The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, led by Member of Knesset Yuli Edelstein, conducted an inspection tour on Sunday of the Sde Teiman detention facility. This visit followed committee deliberations regarding the assignment of female reserve soldiers to guard duties over Hamas terrorists. During their visit, committee members spoke directly with female soldiers serving at the facility and received comprehensive briefings from Israel Defense Forces officials.
As a result of their recent deliberations, the committee has established a new policy stating that female reserve soldiers will only be stationed at enemy detention facilities if they volunteer for such assignments, which must be formalized by signing a volunteer consent form. The policy further guarantees that any female soldier who has volunteered for service in an enemy detention facility but later wishes to end her assignment will have her request honored and will be reassigned to a different position based on the needs of her military branch.
After completing the inspection tour, Committee Chairman Edelstein remarked, "Our purpose today was to closely monitor the implementation of the committee's decisions, with particular focus on the conditions of female reservists serving here, ensuring their personal security, and confirming they are performing duties that do not require direct contact with terrorists. We were satisfied to observe that our guidelines are being properly implemented. We will maintain ongoing oversight of operations here to prevent any recurrence of the unfortunate incidents that previously occurred regarding female reservist service in detention facilities."
