Gilboa Prison
Gilboa PrisonAvshalom Sassoni/Flash 90

As part of the policy of the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir to worsen the conditions of the security prisoners in Israel's prisons, Commissioner of Prisons Katy Perry signed this morning (Wednesday) a directive that requires prisoners to pay from their own money for dental treatments that until now have been paid for by the state.

The newly mandated payments include both dental imaging and time spent in a prison dental clinic. The savings for the state are expected to reach hundreds of thousands of shekels each year.

A decision of the Supreme Court approximately two years ago allows prisoners to request private dentists for treatment while in prison. About 80% of the applicants for this service are security prisoners, creating a situation in which the state coffers indirectly finance private dental treatments for them.

Minister of National Security Ben-Gvir commented: "Slowly, we will change the conditions and cancel the benefits for terrorists. There is no reason in the law to give them better conditions. In a normal country, those who murdered a Jew would be put to death, but until then at least they would not receive free dental care. We will continue to change.''