Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch on Wednesday said that the government is considering the use of electronic devices to stop the operation of smuggled cell phones by Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails.
The announcement came after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu v
owed last week to toughen the conditions of Hamas prisoners following the Gaza leadership's refusal of a Red Cross request to receive proof that captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit is alive.
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Service has been only partially successful in preventing the phenomenon,
Aharonovitch said. Prisoners use the devices to communicate with Hamas
leadership as well as prisoners in other jails.
In response to a query by Likud MK Danny Danon on the Hamas prisoners'
conditions, Aharonovitch said that "at the moment we are considering
implementing an advanced system that would prevent completely the
possibility of prisoners using cellular telephones."
Aharonovitch added that the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) also
intended on performing more thorough searches of those visiting the
prisoners to prevent further smuggling.
Danon said that the moves were not harsh enough. "We must stop the celebrations inside of our jails," he stated.