Prison commissioner receives death threats after cracking down on criminal, terror orgs in prison

Israel Prison Services Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi has received death threats against his and his family's life after instituting a new strict policy towards inmates, according to an N12 report on Monday.

Yaakobi and his family are under 24-hour protection after both criminal and terror organizations threatened his and his family's life.

The threats against Yaakobi are so severe that his security detail remains masked and anonymous, even while in the Knesset, for fear criminal organizations will harm or threaten to harm the security detail's families.

He said, "Each of my children goes to school with a security guard, but we must not blink. There must be police in the prisons."

In particular, one criminal organization has targeted him for imprisoning a member of the organization.

All prisoners are equal

The new policy will see "leaders in criminal organizations" sent to Ketziot Prison in the Negev, which houses members of Hamas's Nukhba special forces.

"We did this to Yaniv Zagori and Odeh Kotier and others, and today, there is peace in the prisons. There are rules; in contrast to the recent past, today, the guards have status, respect, and power," a senior IPS officer told N12.

"From the point of view of the commissioner, all prisoners are equal. There is no discrimination."

"We fight against the criminal organizations to the end, without concessions. There are no more positions in prison today. The punishment of the leaders of criminal organizations will be equal to that of all prisoners. No privileges," Yaakobi emphasized.