Prison guards run off bus during rocket siren, leaving prisoners on board
The guards did not respond when the prisoners asked them about why they were being left behind.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFA ROCKET fired from Gaza by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad heads toward Israel this week(photo credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS)
During the round of fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad last week, prisoners that were being brought to court for a hearing were left locked on a bus during a rocket siren as Israel Prison Service guards ran from the vehicle, according to Channel 12 news."They left us like sitting ducks; the guards abandoned us," said one of the prisoners involved. "Because we're prisoners, maybe they thought that we deserve less rights."The prison guards did not respond when the prisoners asked them about why they were left behind."The Nahson unit escorts hundreds of detainees and prisoners every day in IPS vehicles out of and into prisons throughout the year, even during conflicts," said the Israel Prison Service in a statement to Channel 12. "The administrators of the unit instruct that during a siren, the officers must stop the vehicle under or near some cover when possible or on the side of the road. The detainees and prisoners are told to put their hands on their heads and to bend over as close to lying down as the vehicle allows. After this, the escorting team must exit the vehicle and secure it."As far as we know, last week there were no unusual incidents in this regard," added the IPS. "We stress that forces in the Nahson Unit escorted 174 prisoners and detainees, of whom some were security prisoners, during the days of the conflict that were under rocket attacks, in a complicated operation together with Israel Police as part of their mission and with great professionalism."Over 400 rockets and mortars were fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad toward southern and central Israel last week, leading to dozens of retaliatory strikes against PIJ targets and operatives preparing to fire more rockets.
