A Palestinian who was arrested after spitting on a female Israel Defense Forces officer on a public bus in the Tel Aviv area was transferred to a high-security prison wing for terrorist detainees on Wednesday.
Israel Prison Service Chief Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi ordered the man, a resident of the Samaria village of Huwara, to be classified as a security prisoner, even though he is merely a suspect in a criminal probe, the IPS said in a statement cited by local media.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose office oversees both the IPS and the Israel Police, commended the move, writing in a social media post: “Anyone who spits on a soldier is a terrorist!”
“A job well done by Prison Service Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi for transferring the spitting terrorist from a criminal prison to a security prison,” the right-wing minister wrote. “It’s the only way!”
מי שיורק על חיילת הוא מחבל! טוב עשה נציב שב"ס קובי יעקובי שהעביר את המחבל היורק מכלא פלילי לביטחוני. רק ככה! pic.twitter.com/cmKuXYNUex
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) May 21, 2025
The Sunday attack, caught on video, sparked widespread condemnation from top Israeli officials and renewed calls for harsh penalties against those who target IDF personnel amid the ongoing seven-front war.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz demanded that law enforcement authorities prosecute the Palestinian.
“The despicable terrorist who assaulted and spat on a uniformed IDF officer must be punished to the fullest extent,” he said. “We will not allow harm to come to our soldiers.”
The suspect turned himself in hours after the video footage of the attack went viral on social media. He is also suspected of illegally crossing Israel’s pre-1967 borders using a fake ID to obtain employment.
