In a new bid to deter terrorism, Israel will lower prison conditions to make them as basic as possible while still conforming to international law, according to Strategic Affairs and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Erdan said security and criminal prisoners should be treated differently. He continued, saying the changes would both “fulfill our moral duty to terror victims and their families,” as well as “deter would-be terrorists.” “When it comes to security prisoners, one of the main goals of imprisonment—rehabilitation—does not exist, because prisoners are instilled with a terrorist ideology that does not regret their actions. The party is over,” declared Erdan. The move is the culmination of seven months of work by a committee established to find way to make imprisonment harder for convicted terrorists.
Because terrorists have been known to leave their water faucets running in defiance—wasting five times more water than the average Israeli citizen—new regulations will also reduce water consumption for terror convicts.
Additionally, Erdan said that rival Hamas and Fatah Palestinian factions will no longer be given the privilege of being housed in separate, like-minded jails, and will be intermingled.
Up until now, convicted terrorists have enjoyed the right to cook their own food, but will now receive food from the same place as criminal convicts: the prison cafeteria. Canteen allotments will also be reduced.
Israeli security experts have not expressed serious opposition to the new measures.
