Prison Four
Encyclopedia
Israeli military prison
The Israeli Military Prison is a prison for guarding soldiers who committed crimes during their service. It is estimated that 15,000-18,000 Israeli soldiers go through an Israeli military prison or detention center every year.-Prison sector history:The need to create prisons in the IDF arose as...
for Israeli soldiers, located in the military police compound in Tzrifin
Tzrifin
Tzrifin is an area in Gush Dan in central Israel, located on the eastern side of Rishon LeZion and including parts of Be'er Ya'akov. The area proper is defined as an 'area without jurisdiction' between the two cities....
(Camp Yadin), Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
It is the main prison for military prisoners in Israel (the secondary being Prison Six
Prison Six
Prison Six , officially Confinement Base 396 is an Israeli military prison located near Atlit, Israel, on Oren Junction.It is the second military prison for IDF soldiers, after Prison Four in Tzrifin . Prison Six can contain about 350 prisoners.Prison Six generally contains prisoners from the...
) and can contain approximately 600 prisoners. It is the only prison for Israeli soldiers during an emergency. Prison Four accepts all prisoners except officers, senior NCOs, some military policemen and soldiers who serve in the Northern Command. These go to Prison Six.
History
Prison Four was founded soon after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
and absorbed prisoners from the provisional jail set up in northern Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
(al-Shaykh Muwannis
Al-Shaykh Muwannis
Al-Shaykh Muwannis was a small Palestinian Arab village in the District of Jaffa in British Mandate Palestine located approximately 8.5 kilometers from the center of Jaffa city in territory earmarked for Jewish statehood under the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine.The village had...
) beforehand. It suffered great neglect and overcapacity from the onset, and in 1949, a commission of inquiry was ordered by the Chief of Staff
Ramatkal
The Chief of the General Staff, also known as the Commander-in-Chief of the Israel Defense Forces is the supreme commander and Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. At any given time, the Chief of Staff is the only active officer holding the IDF's highest rank, Rav Aluf , which is usually...
, led by Aluf
Aluf
Aluf is the term used for General and Admiral in the Israel Defense Forces . In addition to the Aluf rank itself, there are four other ranks which are derivatives of the word...
Moshe Zadok and Aluf David Shaltiel
David Shaltiel
David Shaltiel was an Israeli military and intelligence officer, later also diplomat, and was most well known for being the district commander of the Haganah in Jerusalem during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.He was born in Berlin into a Portuguese orthodox Jewish family settled in Hamburg.At 16,...
. Prison Six
Prison Six
Prison Six , officially Confinement Base 396 is an Israeli military prison located near Atlit, Israel, on Oren Junction.It is the second military prison for IDF soldiers, after Prison Four in Tzrifin . Prison Six can contain about 350 prisoners.Prison Six generally contains prisoners from the...
was eventually founded as a result of the extreme overcapacity.
Ever since, Prison Four has been gradually undergoing major changes. The prison was the first to experiment with new ideas in the prison sector, like the operation of security cameras in key locations, as well as the rehabilitation program abbreviated to Gahelet (lit. factors for returning to proper service) in 2000. In 2006, a load of expensive items belonging to prisoners deposited in the prison's safe, were stolen, and in January 2008, the first prisoner in the history of the jail died, although the exact circumstances of his death are not clear. Both events are causing the high command of the Military Police Corps to rethink their approach to the prison system, and install new safeguards.
Syrian prisoner escape
After the Six-Day WarSix-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
, high-quality Arab prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
were kept in regular Israeli military prisoners, including Prison Four. They were given excellent living conditions, including television, dangerous objects and trips to the outside, in order to ensure that the Israeli POWs held in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
would get similar treatment.
On April 16, 1972, three Syrian prisoners were found missing in a morning roll call, and were later confirmed to be escapees. After the initial investigation, the commander of the Manpower Directorate, Aluf
Aluf
Aluf is the term used for General and Admiral in the Israel Defense Forces . In addition to the Aluf rank itself, there are four other ranks which are derivatives of the word...
Shlomo Lahat
Shlomo Lahat
Maj. Gen. Shlomo "Chich" Lahat is a former Israeli general and politician.Lahat was born in Germany and made Aliyah in 1933. He served in the Haganah and the Israel Defense Forces...
, ordered a revokation of all special privileges to POWs held in Prison Four. The deputy Chief Military Police Officer, Colonel Meir Rosenfeld, was responsible for the task, and as a first step informed a cell of Egyptians that their television sets would be revoked. The Egyptians asked for two hours to fomulate a means to have all the prisoners give up their TVs, meanwhile planning a riot. They began fortifying their cells and damaging the weak ceiling. After this became clear to the jailors, an intervention team was formed, although Col. Rosenfeld did not wish to have a violent clash which would endanger either Egyptian or Israeli lives. Rosenfeld personally climbed the roof of the cellblock and fired a bursts around him to scare the Egyptians. One bullet ricocheted and wounded an Egyptian prisoner. The others promptly surrendered, and the injured prisoner died from his wounds.
While the Chief of Staff David Elazar
David Elazar
David "Dado" Elazar was the ninth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, serving in that capacity from 1972 to 1974. He was forced to resign in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War.-Early life:...
, who arrived at the scene, praised Rosenfeld for his actions, an investigating committee found that he used his weapon illegally. As a result, Megiddo Prison was founded in 1974 to hold certain prisoners of war, as well as problematic Israeli military prisoners.
Structure
- Absorption Company - accepts new prisoners and sometimes temporarily holds them before they can be transferred to a permanent company. Formerly this company was located outside the prison and had accommodations for prisoners, but this was changed following the mass deposit robbery of 2006. Headed by a lieutenant.
- Company Alef (א) - for prisoners serving sentences of 28 days or less, or those who have less than 28 days till their release. This is an open company, i.e. prisoners sleep in an open (but guarded) area, and not in jail cells. Headed by a captain and can contain up to 120 prisoners.
- Company Bet (ב) - for long-time convicts, usually with sentences above 100 days. Company Bet is known for its harsh living conditions.
- Company Gimel
- Company Dalet
- Company 400 - formerly a separate prison, company 400 is the women's company, and contains all female prisoners.
Company Gimel
Company Gimel (ג) is a closed company for detainees awaiting trial, new prisoners, and some serving medium sentences. It consists of four regular platoons and a fifth absorption platoon, where new prisoners are accepted and sorted. Gimel is the largest company, containing up to 180 prisoners, and its commander is a major instead of a captain.Company Gimel contains the isolation/solitary confinement wing ( agaf habodedim), which has 21 cells and 2 full solitary ( tzinok) cells. The regular cells are for separation of prisoners and prevention of harm only - i.e., prisoners are put there if they pose an obvious danger to their surroundings, or are involved in feuds with other prisoners. This is not officially a punishment. A guard from Company Alef is placed incide each cell to guard the dangerous prisoner and prevent suicides, etc. Full solitary (tzinok) cells are used to punish prisoners and any lieutenant or higher in the prison may sentence any prisoner to 24 hours there (up to 1 week for higher-ranking officers).
Company Dalet
Company Dalet (ד) is an open company and the least strict of any of the other companies. While technically intended for reservists, there are two other classes of soldiers who may serve their sentences there. Soldiers aged 22 and above may request placement in Company Dalet, as may soldiers serving in the Nahal HarediNetzah Yehuda Battalion
The Netzah Yehuda Battalion is a battalion in the Kfir Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces . The purpose of the unit is to allow religious Israelis to serve in the IDF in an atmosphere conducive to their religious convictions, within a framework that is strictly halachically observant...
, a battalion made up of Haredi
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
soldiers. The reason for the latter group of soldiers is that female do not serve as jail instructors in Company Dalet, thereby minimizing the Haredi soldiers' exposure to women.
Soldiers in Company Dalet have a lot of free time during the day, and have access to television and a DVD player (in Prison Six this includes satellite TV as well). Apart from the much ligher overall atmosphere, another difference between Dalet and the other companies is that they eat with a full set of silverware. This, in contrast to the other companies' soldiers who only receive spoons at meals.
In 2007, because of the shortage of space for prisoners in both prisons, Company Dalet also began accepting regular prisoners with short sentences and good records. However, Dalet's status is still of a small company, and its commander is a lieutenant instead of a captain.
Assisting units
- Prisoner management unit - headed by a captain, it serves as the adjutant unit for prisoners only.
- Adjutant unit - headed by a lieutenant, it serves as the adjutant unit for regular soldiers serving in Prison Four.
- Operations sector - headed by a lieutenant.
- Operations room
- Mental health sector - provides psychological help for prisoners. Headed by a major.
- Gahelet sector - a sector introduced in 2000, which helps prisoners resume normal service. This sector is operated mostly by female soldiers who pick the soldiers they want to help, instead of the soldier asking for help as with other sectors. Headed by a major.
- Intelligence sector - responsible for collecting intelligence about possible rebellions, etc. Headed by a first sergeant (called an intelligence officer).