National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir accused Shin Bet director Ronen Bar of threatening him over terms for the release of Shifa Hospital director, Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya, during an interview with Kan Reshet Bet on Thursday.
“Ronen Bar threatened me that if I don't agree to the terms, they will release prisoners,” Ben-Gvir said.
The Shin Bet responded sharply to the statements, saying that Ben-Gvir was lying and that he should “invest his efforts in solving the crises under his responsibility; these are lies that never existed."
“The Shin Bet has been warning for over a year about the shortage of prisons and the harm it causes to state security," they added.
"Tonight, the arrests of terrorists will be delayed because we have nowhere to imprison them," Ben-Gvir added.
"It would have been good if the minister in charge had invested his energy in solving the serious crisis under his responsibility and not in spreading false and childish slogans in the television and radio studios," said Ben-Gvir.
Sde Teiman detention camp
Ben-Gvir mentioned the Sde Teiman detention camp, located in Israel’s Negev Desert, and advocated for them to stay open despite overcrowding. The facility, located around 18 miles from the Gaza Strip, is split into two parts: enclosures where around 70 Palestinian detainees from Gaza are placed under extreme physical restraint, and a hospital where wounded detainees are strapped to their beds to endure treatment. The facility is overcrowded, contributing to the declining conditions of the camp and the movement to shut it down.
“Why are they closing Sde Teiman, because they are overcrowded?” Ben-Gvir asked. “Prisons are overcrowded, and it is good that they are.”
He argues that prisons are meant to be overcrowded and uncomfortable for the prisoners.
“This is not a reason to release prisoners, that is how they are supposed to be,” said Ben-Gvir. “These are terrorists, and I give them what is required by law - the minimum."
Poor conditions at Sde Teiman camp
These statements took place after a new committee was announced, dedicated to discussing the prison conditions of confinement for the camp’s detainees. This committee was established after several petitions were submitted to the High Court on behalf of human rights organizations regarding the inappropriate conditions of the detention camp.
Ben Gvir's statements stand in contradiction with the latest findings published in an extensive newspaper investigation published by The New York Times early last month. This NYT spread revealed that the detainees were forbidden to speak loudly, stand or sleep while under surveillance, or contact lawyers or relatives.