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| By: Israel Insider staff and partners |
| Published: February 12, 2006 |
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Israeli army jailers at the tough Ketziot facility in the southern Negev desert, where Palestinian security prisoners are held, have discovered a unique deterrent against disturbances: TV.
The soldiers' weekly "Bamahane" reports in its current issue that in the year since the first TV set was installed in the prison, there have been no serious disturbances that required tear gas for dispersal - a common occurrence up to then. As a result, further recreational activities are planned.
The prison commander, identified only as Lt. Col. Avi by the magazine, said the security prisoners spend their time watching television instead of planning disturbances. "The culture of planning hostile activity here is withering away," he told the weekly.
Jailers control the channel selection, the magazine said, limiting viewing to the three main Israeli channels, CNN and a Jordanian TV station.
Further "distractions" are planned, the weekly reported - backgammon games, basketball and volleyball.
The commanding officer made it clear that this is not a matter of improving the conditions for the Palestinian prisoners. He said the goal is to keep prisoners from "causing trouble and organizing terror attacks from inside the prison."
The desert prison is made up of rows of tents, and Palestinian prisoners often organize themselves into cells that parallel the militant groups outside the fence. The inmates at the prison are serving sentences after being convicted in military courts on security offenses.
Israel is holding about 8,000 Palestinian prisoners. Practically every night, Israeli troops carry out arrest raids in Judea and Samaria and pick up suspected terrorists.
AP contributed to this report. |
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