Prison
PrisonPhoto: iStock

Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy (Yesh Atid) and Public Security Minister Omar Barlev (Labor) recently approved a unique guide governing Knesset members' visits to imprisoned terrorists.

As part of the guide, a member of the Knesset who wishes to meet with security prisoners must request a permit that will be examined by a special team. MK Itamar Ben Gvir, chairman of the Otzma Yehudit party, submitted such a request out of a desire to confront the murderers of the 5 members of the Fogel family.

Ben Gvir's request was denied. He was surprised to discover that Barlev had actually asked the two murderers for their permission for the visit.

A letter from the minister's office stated: "The prisoners you wanted to visit - Amjad Awad and Hakim Awad - are not interested in your visit and refuse to meet with you."

It is further written: "The aforementioned visit may cause damage to the proper conduct of the prison, because of 'danger to the security of the prison or to the order, discipline and safe custody in the prison, stipulated in the guide.'"

Ben Gvir attacked: "The policy of the Minister of Public Security is a failed policy. First you sit with terrorists and build a relationship of trust, and then you proceed to request permission from the murderers of an entire family. To what extent will the lax, cowardly, and permissive policy toward terrorists further deteriorate? With God's help we will establish a stable right-wing government and we will put an end to such despicable conduct and return control of the prisons to the State of Israel. The sovereign is us, not terrorism."

Ben Gvir stated in his request that he would be happy to visit several more terrorists to confront the murderers and inspect the conditions under which they live in the prisons. According to him, "They mock us. We have turned our prisons into 'all-inclusive' hotels, and murderers who should have sat in the electric chair are given superior conditions. I intend to take advantage of the unfortunate guide drawn up by Minister Barlev and Mickey Levy to go to the prisons, to confront the scum, and also learn about their conditions in prison."

Ben Gvir added: "The guide was developed in order to facilitate the freedom of movement of Ra’am (the United Arab List) and Joint Arab List members of the Knesset and to allow them contact with the murderers, but I intend to spoil the celebration. I will not let the blood of our brothers cry out from the ground. The murderers will receive visitors who will respect their victims. I'm coming to do the opposite of what Barlev and Miki Levy intended: to shout at them, to check that no one gets confused and spoils them, to see that there are no more female guards that the terrorists can invite to their wing and harm them, and above all to remind all of us that when faced with terrorists, we must stand with determination and not with complacency."