Lieutenant Colonel Vadim Goldstein, commander of Ofer Prison, speaks with Arutz Sheva - Israel Natonal News about the complex operations and the handling of inmates - terrorists from every terror organization.
"We are currently holding 2,700 terrorists from Judea and Samaria, from Gaza, Hamas's elite Nukhba terrorists, fighters from Hezbollah's Radwan force and also those who participated in the October 7 massacre," Goldstein explains.
He adds, "We are on duty 24 hours a day. They see the terrorists up close, are in contact with them and it is not simple. In the end we have a great responsibility. We leave the emotions at home. Here the goal is to prevent them from doing extreme things and the minister's policy is clear to us - to give them the minimum conditions. It cannot be like it was before."
Goldstein says that one of the central activities is also to ensure the safety of the guards. "The terrorists create weapons from various things in the cell to harm us. They sharpen plastic mirrors to injure, they dismantled a piece of a showerhead that was given to them to make a weapon," he says.
The concern for staff safety also accompanied the recent hostage deal. "It was a very complex operation, with a lot of emotion, it is not simple. It is important to say that on the one hand we see the bereaved families and understand the price - and on the other hand our goal is to see the hostages alive and the fallen here in the country. This was what we concentrated on during all the releases we carried out at Ofer Prison. We ensured there would be no celebrations and we knew they would try to do something - including try to attack us," he said.
One of the things that created a material change in the recent war was the decision of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to end the good conditions terrorists had enjoyed over the years in the prison. "They used to have lavish conditions in the past. There were canteens, laundries, storage rooms and a selection of food that even an ordinary citizen did not have. Now we have full governance and they receive the minimum required under international law. We thwart every attempt to establish leaderships here. We identify these things. Our response is immediate and deterrent, to disperse, so that hidden leaderships will not arise," Goldstein said.
"There is significant deterrence. I know that the terrorists do not want to come to prison, because the conditions are not what they were. Many terrorists do not return to incarceration because of this deterrence," he emphasizes.
The driving force for him and his subordinates is the desire to succeed in the mission assigned to them. "You understand that you are in a very sensitive role, with great responsibility managing a large unit with many staff, and you must be on operational alert all the time. There is not a day or hour when you are not thinking about the prison, about the operations. You must always be thinking ahead so the terrorists do not surprise you. That is the key to success," he concludes.