Southern Israel, Near Gaza Strip, Is Under Strict Closure, Due to Threats from Islamic Jihad: Tens of thousands of Israeli citizens were asked to stay at home, roads were blocked and even the train is not running. In addition, 14,000 Palestinian workers are not allowed to enter Israel, and the crossing between Israel and Gaza is closed. This is an outcome of the capture of the head of Islamic Jihad in an Israeli military operation in the Palestinian city Jenin in the West Bank earlier this week.
These steps are defined as preventative means, to defend the residents of southern Israel. This is the first time that preventative measures have been imposed on such a large population. Security forces predict that operators of Islamic Jihad would want to take revange on the detention of their leader, and start shelling missiles or use snipers to target Israeli bypasses.
Six Female Wardens Go Public with Stories of Sexual Abuse and Rape by Palestinian Inmate: the scandal at Gilboa prison in northern Israel continues to make headlines as more female wardens who were young soldiers on active duty come forward and speak up. The women told the media that they were intentionally “pimped” by their superiors and were left alone, against regulations, with a Palestinian inmate who is considered one of the leaders of Palestinian prisoners, in return for keeping the quiet and possibly providing intel. The Gilbo’a prison became the center of public attention in September 2021, when six Palestinian prisoners escaped and were returned to prison after an extensive manhunt that lasted several days. The fiasco resulted in the establishment of a commission of inquiry into security failures and mismanagement of the prison. As complaints of sexual abuse continue to mount, politicians from across the spectrum, including PM Lapid and President Herzog, voiced their criticism of the Prison Service’s failure to effectively deal with the complaints in real time, and called for a thorough investigation of an alleged coverup. Several politicians called on the army to stop placing female soldiers in compulsory service as prison guards. A new report by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel shows a systemic failure to address complaints by female prison guards. According to the report, 67 complaints of sexual violence by inmates towards guards were filed, but only one ended with a prison sentence and a fine.
Court Overturns Own Decision to Force Woman Under Threat to Move to Shelter: The Lod Central District Court overturned a decision to force a woman to move to a shelter, after she received explicit threats on her life. The initial ruling was made after the police rejected the court’s request to deal with those who threatened the woman’s life. The initial decision was overturned following an appeal by the woman, a resident of Lod, and public criticism by members of Knesset, activists, and journalists. Critics said that limiting the freedom of a woman who committed no crime, instead of taking pre-emptive measures against those who threatened her life, was the wrong course of action. The story received extensive media coverage in part due to its proximity to the murder of Rabab Abu Siam, also a resident of Lod, who received direct threats to her life.
PM Lapid Announced that he Decided to Cut Short His Private Vacation, Due to Criticism: Lapid planned to continue a short family vacation in Northern Israel until Sunday morning, but political figures and other political actors criticized him for taking a vacation on one of the most important days in the Jewish calendar, Tisha B’Av, a fast that memorializes the destruction of the Temple 2000 years ago in Jerusalem. This day is one of the days on the calendar in which all entertainment sites are closed, including restaurants and coffee shops, all by law. Later, Lapid decided to postpone the vacation, due to security allert with Gaza and Islamic Jihad.
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Israel Hosted the French Soccer Super Cup, With Top World Known Player Leo Messi: Tens of thousands of exited people got an opportunity to watch the most important soccer player in the world, Lionel Messi, who came with his French team to play for the French Super Cup. Messi was a renowned star of Spanish team Barca, but due to a shortage of resources to keep him, he was purchased by a French soccer team and moved to Paris.
For Further Reading:
Islamic Jihad: Here, here, here, here
Prison: Here, here, here, here