Prime Minister Yair Lapid vowed Sunday to exhaust all legal measures against those involved with the Gilboa Prison pimping scandal, saying that the abuse described by the latest victim to come forward is "inconceivable."
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The investigation into the September 2021 escape of six high-profile terrorists from the maximum security prison in northern Israel revealed, among other things, that female soldiers embedded with the Israel Prison Service and assigned to Gilboa as wardens were sexually abused by inmates while their superiors turned a blind eye to "keep the peace" inside the prison.
Speaking at Sunday's cabinet meeting, Lapid pledged to fully investigate the rape allegations made by female wardens.
"It is inconceivable that an IDF soldier is raped by a terrorist during her service. The case in question is under a gag order, but it needs to be investigated and it will be investigated. I've spoken with Public Security Minister Omer Barlev and IPS Commissioner Katy Perry on this matter. I was briefed on the steps taken by the IPS to make sure this never happens again."
Last week, another victim came forward, saying she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a high-profile terrorist at Gilboa Prison. Demanding an official state inquiry, the woman further said that her commanders know of the abuse and allowed it to continue.
Lapid said that his office "will make sure that the female soldier receives assistance, we will bring the culprits to justice and we will ensure that such incidents will never happen again."
Using the alias "Hila," the former prison guard launched a crowdfunding campaign on the Beactive platform on Thursday to raise funds for a legal battle.
Writing on the crowdfunding page, she said that when she was stationed at the Gilboa Prison, she was "stunned to learn that there was one terrorist with blood on his hands who was, in fact, running the prison and effectively controlled all the officers and staff, who obeyed him without any argument.
"He would walk around freely, not handcuffed, and would grab the [female] soldiers without hindrance. Everyone knew. Everyone was silent. Everyone was afraid. Everyone 'worked' for him.
"My commanders, my peers – people I thought were supposed to protect me - delivered me to him. They made sure that I was left alone with him, in clear violation of procedures, so that he could brutalize me and sexually abuse me again and again – and not only me, but also many other female wardens.
"Just the two of us, alone, with no handcuffs or bars – he could have killed me. He could have taken me hostage. A convicted murderer! A terrorist!" she charged. "What did they think? That he would only use me for 'pleasure'? That it's okay to sacrifice a female soldier for intel? For money? I can't even imagine what he would get for the body of a female soldier."
Attorney Keren Barak, who represents the soldiers, told local media, "This is the gravest case of sexual abuse against a soldier by a terrorist in the country's history. This is an enemy of the state, a man with blood on his hands, who murdered her soul with his heinous acts.
"The public and the state cannot abandon her now," Barak said of her client.
Knesset Public Security Committee Chairperson MK Meirav Ben-Ari called on the State Attorney's Office to launch an investigation into the case.
Yisrael Beytenu leader Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman urged the formation of an external commission of inquiry into the case, asserting, "We will not abandon our female soldiers."
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