Ben-Gvir Orders Closure of Prisoner-run Bakeries

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. (dpa)
Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. (dpa)
TT

Ben-Gvir Orders Closure of Prisoner-run Bakeries

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. (dpa)
Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. (dpa)

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has ordered the closure of bakeries inside the Rimon and Ketziot jails, which provide fresh bread to the inmates.

Israeli media said that Ben-Gvir took this step because the bakeries are run by Palestinian inmates.

Speaking to Israel Hayom, Ben-Gvir said he "went crazy" after he knew about the bakeries.

"Prisoners cannot get such a privilege," he was quoted as saying.

This step follows a series of similar steps taken by Ben-Gvir including the transfer of inmates between prisons, depriving them of privileges, and building new strict departments.

Ben-Gvir also called for the death penalty for Palestinian attackers who killed Israelis.

The Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said that the closure of bakeries proves that the occupation "has stripped itself of all humanitarian and ethical morals and values."

This also reflects the occupation’s failure to face the inmates in prisons, the Commission added in its statement.

It continued that the false claims by Ben-Gvir that the “inmates are living in luxury and hotels” are a justification he uses to escalate the war against the inmates.

The rise in tension in the prisons was triggered by raids by the repression units against several departments in Ofer, Naqab, Megiddo, and Damon prisons, assaulting prisoners, isolating dozens, and confiscating their belongings.

Palestinian prisoners started on Tuesday protest steps against the Israeli Prisons Administration, refusing to have breakfast or to undergo "security check". The inmates are exerting pressure on the Administration to back offon its recent measures.

The female prisoners in Damon prison delivered an audio message on Wednesday revealing that they are being tortured by the Israeli Prisons Administration.

There are 4,700 prisoners in Israeli occupation jails, including 29 women and 150 children and minors.



Biden: Joseph Aoun is ‘First-Rate Guy’

FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)
TT

Biden: Joseph Aoun is ‘First-Rate Guy’

FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)

US President Joe Biden welcomed the election of Joseph Aoun as Lebanon's president on Thursday, saying in a statement that the army chief was the “right leader” for the country.

“President Aoun has my confidence. I believe strongly he is the right leader for this time,” said Biden, adding that Aoun would provide “critical leadership” in overseeing an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.

Aoun's election by Lebanese lawmakers ended a more than two-year vacancy and could mark a step towards lifting the country out of financial meltdown.

“We finally have a president,” Biden said later, at the end of a meeting on the response to major wildfires in the US city of Los Angeles.

He said he had spoken to Aoun by phone on Thursday for “20 minutes to half an hour,” describing the Lebanese leader as a “first-rate guy.”

Biden pledged to continue US support for Lebanon’s security forces, and for Lebanon’s recovery and reconstruction, the White House said in a readout of Biden’s call with Aoun.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Aoun's election “a moment of historic opportunity,” which offered Lebanon a chance to “establish durable peace and stability.”

Aoun, who turned 61 on Friday, faces the difficult task of overseeing the fragile ceasefire with Israel in south Lebanon.

Separately, Biden spoke about the hostage talks between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“We’re making some real progress,” he told reporters at the White House, adding that he had spoken with US negotiators earlier Thursday.

“I know hope springs eternal, but I’m still hopeful that we’ll be able to have a prisoner exchange.”

Biden added: “Hamas is the one getting in the way of that exchange right now, but I think we may be able to get that done. We need to get it done.”