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Security prisoners' cells raided
(VIDEO) Ynet correspondent joins a nighttime operation against Islamic Jihad prisoners hiding weapons, attempting to incite other security prisoners into disorder
Raanan Ben-Zur
(VIDEO) Nine Islamic Jihad prisoners in the Sharon prison were sound asleep. They were not aware that outside of their cell door, cell 4, wing 10, specially trained armed fighters stood, waiting to enter.
Video footage: Yaron Brenner
The fighters burst into the cell, and the prisoners, caught unaware, were taken outside of their cells in handcuffs. The aim of the operation – searches in the cell – turned out to be justified: Two long knives were found the in cell, along with forbidden letters containing messages to other prisoners.
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The raid on the cell was planned down to the last detail. The Prisons Authority received intelligence on the presence of forbidden items in the cell, which contained some of the most dangerous and extreme security prisoners.
According to the unit's commander, Nazim Saviti, "in this wing, terrorists are imprisoned. Islamic Jihad members lead in their extremism against the State and against the management of the prison. Entering the cell of these security prisoners is like entering enemy territory."
Due to the complex and dangerous nature of the operation, the unit's most skilled and seasoned fighters were selected for the mission.
The aim: Entering the cell, without knowledge of the prisoners, and obtaining the weapons, letters used to communicate between prisoners, mobile phones, and every other item which can be used by the terrorists to initiate a terrorist attack or to endanger the prison's personnel.
Equipped with helmets and shields, and armed with guns and with two attack dogs, the fighters quietly walked into the wing. They walked so quietly that no prisoners in the wing were aware of that the operation was underway.
When the doors burst open, and the prisoners were removed from the cell, the searches began. First, a search was conducted through Quran books, and after it was found that they were not used to hide weapons, they were returned to the representative of the prisoners, who stood at the cell's entrance.
'Quran books returned to prisoners'
Saviti told Ynet: "The respectful treatment of Quran books, and their return to the prisoner after the check, is part of the lessons learned after prisoners in the Megiddo prison complained
that Quran pages were deliberately ripped. Now, the Quran books are returned to the prisoners, and no one can come to us with claims."
Nothing was left unsearched, pillows, mattresses, electric sockets and their content is checked. Cleaning material, the cell's bars, and drainage was also searched.
The prisoners, it turned out, had an especially creative method for hiding weapons. "Two months ago, we found, in the same wing, a hacksaw hidden inside an electrical splitter," said Saviti. "The prisoners are always looking for original ways to hide items, and we must think where they can hide weapons. An exhausting war of minds goes on between us," he added.
Knives and secret letters
At the end of the search, two makeshift knives, made of cans, were found, hidden in the wooden board of a bed.
Saviti pointed out that "knives like these threaten the lives of prisoners. This find will prevent prisoner attacks on staff or on other prisoners."
In addition, five letters were found. Their content has been kept confidential, but Saviti did say they were linked to tensions between Islamic Jihad prisoners and their Hamas counterparts.
"The Islamic Jihad is demanding that all the other prisoners be more extreme, create provocations, and protest against the prison's management. The Hamas prisoners are more moderate, and object to disorder and protests," explained Saviti.
Following the discovery of the knives and the letters, the prisoners will be transferred to isolation, and will stand trial. Saviti added that their televisions and electrical items may be confiscated.
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