An uproar in the Israeli public and political ranks quickly deteriorated into an exchange of accusations between the government, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and the Israel Prison Service (IPS) following the release of Shifa Hospital chief Muhammed Abu Salmiya from Israeli detainment on Monday.
Former Head of the Intelligence Division at the IPS Ilan Budra said in a conversation with Udi Segal and Anat Davidov on 103FM on Tuesday morning, "something like this should not have happened."
"Administrative detainees are arrested and released regularly throughout the year, and no one talks about it," Budra continued.
Budra further added that "Saleh al-Arouri was also an administrative detainee that was released. The Shin Bet determines the identity of the released person. Not only the hospital director was released, 50 administrative detainees were released. Has anyone checked their identities?"
"The IPS has no say in this matter. They receive a release order - they have to release. The Shin Bet decides who is released [...] The Shin Bet understands it was wrong, he added."
Budra continued, "It is not the role of the IPS to alert on this matter, an administrative arrest is based on intelligence information, and a commanding general signs the arrest warrant. The IPS does not know on what grounds [the suspect] is arrested."
What could Israel's prison system resemble?
"As soon as a detainee has a large media profile, you must [think twice before acting,] and the director of Shifa Hospital is indicative of this. Throughout the war, they spoke about the hospital being a Hamas terror base. He is also a much stronger bargaining chip than other medical professionals," Budra emphasized.
He further explained, "The IPS has another responsibility, but with limited liability. Their responsibility is to inspect confinement places. As of today, the Shin Bet's incarceration capacity is 14,500 prisoners, when in practice, there are more than 22,000 inmates. I hope that today it is clear to everyone that the incarceration resource in the State of Israel is an important resource related to all security incidents."
Regarding the living conditions of the prisoners in the State of Israel Budra said, "entire prisons had to be built to meet the standard. Not only for security prisoners but also for criminal prisoners."
"To spend money and the budget, there must be a plan for at least two or three new prisons. Without this it will be very difficult to meet the necessary standards," he concluded.