WATCH: Raids of Hamas prison cells in Israel fruitful
The Israel Prison Service raided cells of Hamas members on Thursday and found messages related to planned attacks along with other contraband; the raids were precipitated by increased prisoner insubordination.
Israel Prison Service officers raided prison cells holding Hamas prisoners Thursday morning, and found messages and orders for Hamas attacks outside of the prison, along with a lot of other intelligence information.
Cell phones and sim cards were also found in the raid.
The Israel Prison Service said that "following intelligence received, and insubordinate behavior by the security prisoner in the Nafha Prison and Eshel Prison, IPS officers raided the cells."
The raids took place in Hamas sections of the prison. In Nafha prison there was an increase in the insubordination of the prisoners including not standing in line, not agreeing to leave the prison yard and return to their cells. Meanwhile, there was intelligence that the prisoners had forbidden items in their cells.
The IPS therefore decided to carry out raids on the Hamas prisoners' cells. The Hamas prisoners in Eshel Prison were temporarily moved to Ohalei Kider prison, while the IPS officers carried out a thorough inspection of the cells. The officers found orders and plans for Hamas attacks outside of the prison. The Hamas commanders who were sent to be with their subordinates in the wing have since been moved to different areas of the prison.
Meanwhile, two hunger strikes have been started over the last several days amongst the Palestinian prisoners in Israel. The first hunger strike was started by only a few dozen prisoners who are expressing solidarity with Bilal Kaid of Nablus who is hunger striking to protest his administrative detention. One of the leaders of the strike is Ahmed Sa'adat, the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group. Kaid himself is a member of the PFLP.
The second one was started by Hamas in the Nafha and Eshel prisons to protest their conditions including the fact that they are separated from the rest of the prison population, amongst other reasons. It started as a direct response to several Hamas members being sent to other prisons. There is no connection between the PFLP hunger strike and the Hamas hunger strike.
