Israel PM vows to investigate ‘sex slave’ prison case

The Israeli prime minister on Sunday promised an investigation into allegations by a former guard at a high-security prison that she was repeatedly raped by a Palestinian inmate after her bosses forced her to work as a “sex slave”.

Reports that inmates at Gilboa prison have ill-treated female guards have circulated in the Israeli media for several years.

But the prison’s administration came under scrutiny again last September when six Palestinian prisoners escaped from Gilboa by tunneling their cells through the sewage system, an escape that made headlines around the world.

Over the past year there have been a number of revelations about what some Israeli media are calling the Gilboa “pimp affair,” a reference to widespread reports that male wardens have dispatched wardens to situations where they have been subjected to inmate attacks.

But last week, a woman posing as a former Gilboa guard and remaining anonymous posted a statement online that she had been repeatedly raped by a Palestinian prisoner.

She said she was “handed over” to him by her superiors and became his “private sex slave.”

“I didn’t want to be raped, hurt over and over again,” she said.

The woman’s lawyer, Keren Barak, then confirmed the anonymous testimony on Israel’s Channel 12 over the weekend, saying her client needed mental health support following the ordeal.

In response to the developments, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid told his cabinet on Sunday: “It cannot (tolerated) that a female soldier be raped by a terrorist while on duty.”

“It must – and will – be investigated. We’ll make sure the soldier gets help,” Lapid said.

In a separate statement on Sunday, Homeland Security Minister Omer Barlev said the “affair that took place in Gilboa prison a few years ago” had “shaken the Israeli public”.

“I’ve read the published testimonies and I’m just shocked,” Barlev said.

Lapid said aspects of the case were under a gag order, but that he was holding talks with Israel Prisons Service (IPS) commissioner Katy Perry “to ensure an incident like this never happens again.”

In Gilboa prison in northern Israel, Israel is holding a number of Palestinians convicted of involvement in attacks on Israelis.