DaysofPal – The head of the Israel Prison Service (IPS), Kobi Yaakobi, has reportedly invited a group of settlers on a “safari tour” inside one of Israel’s most secure prisons, where Palestinian detainees were viewed while lying handcuffed on the floor.
An investigation published by the Israeli news site Shomrim detailed how more than 20 far-right Israelis from the illegal Har Homa settlement in Jerusalem were transported to Nitzan Prison, near Ramla, for the visit.
According to the report, Chief Commissioner Yaakobi, who regularly attends synagogues in Har Homa, personally hosted the group. The program included visits to several prison wings, including criminal sections and a high-security wing housing detainees accused of belonging to Hamas’s elite Nukhba unit.
Visitors said detainees were forced to lie on the floor in handcuffs during the tour. An IPS source claimed this posture reflects standard restraint procedures during operational activity.
The visit also featured a Torah lesson, a question-and-answer session, and a specially prepared lunch for the settlers. Shomrim described the outing as resembling a “safari,” a characterization that has drawn sharp criticism.
The report emphasized that IPS facilities are not open to ordinary citizens seeking entry and are subject to strict access controls. The prison authority has long limited who may enter its premises, placing heavy restrictions on family and lawyer visits and blocking rights groups from conducting independent investigations. In September, officials reaffirmed a blanket ban on visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross, claiming such access would pose a national security threat.
While settlers were reportedly served a lavish meal during their tour, Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups continue to raise alarm over worsening detention conditions.
The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said in a weekend statement that detainees have been deprived of basic information about time, leaving them uncertain when to begin and break their fast during Ramadan. Some prisoners were not even informed that the holy month had started.
Khaled Mahajna, a lawyer for the commission, described asking one detainee how his fast was progressing. “He looked at me and said, ‘Today is Ramadan? No one told us it started,” Mahajna recounted. He accused prison authorities of attempting to erase the spiritual significance of the month for Palestinian prisoners.
Mahajna added that detainees are denied suhoor, the pre-dawn meal before fasting begins, and that their iftar consists of minimal portions of food.
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