An Israel Prison Service officer was found dead in his home in the Samaria community of Givon Hahadasha, northwest of Jerusalem, police said on Monday.
“Many officers were called to the town of Givon Hahadasha after a body was discovered in a burned apartment,” the Israel Police wrote on X, adding that the incident was suspected to be of a criminal nature.
Authorities found the officer’s burned body with stab wounds and a knife stuck in his neck.
The police in a later statement emphasized that “all directions are being investigated” and issued a gag order on the publication of the details of the probe and the identity of possible suspects in the case.
Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) officers were also called to the scene to probe a possible terrorist connection.
In March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an urgent directive for all government bodies to prepare prisons for an influx of thousands of terrorists expected to be arrested this year.
The order came after the IDF and Shin Bet presented their assessment at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv that in 2024, thousands of terrorists in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip will be detained, the Prime Minister’s Office said.