Israeli settlers join 'safari' tour of Palestinian prisoners

The head of the Israel Prison Service (IPS), Kobi Yaakobi, has invited a group of settlers on a so-called "safari tour" to view Palestinian detainees while they are lying on the floor and handcuffed.

According to a report published by the Israeli news site Shomrim, far-right Israelis from the illegal Har Homa settlement in Jerusalem toured one of the state's most secure prisons.

Chief Commissioner Yaakobi, who regularly attends the synagogues in the settlement, was hosting the group. The tour, the report noted, included a visit to several prisoner wings, a Torah lesson and even lunch. 

"It is important to emphasise: Israel Prison Service facilities are not open to visits by citizens who wish to 'be impressed' and have strict entry procedures regarding who is allowed to enter," the article noted. 

The IPS has long been selective about who enters its premises, including restrictions on family and lawyer visitations as well as bans on rights groups from conducting investigations. 

In September, prison service officials doubled down on their blanket ban on Red Cross visits to Palestinian detainees, insisting that their entry would pose a "national security threat".

Shomrim reports that over 20 settlers were picked up from Har Homa and taken to the Nitzan Prison near Ramla, where the writer described the visit as a "safari" tour.

The trip began with a visit to the criminal wings, followed by a tour of Israel's most secure wing, where those accused of being members of Hamas’ Nukhba - its elite unit - are held. 

Israeli sources: “To satisfy a desire for revenge, the head of the Prison Service, Kobi Yaakobi, is hosting a group of leaders of one of the Jewish synagogues in the settlement of ‘Har Homa’ and allowing them to tour one of the most secret sections to view Palestinian prisoners… pic.twitter.com/MBLsWUYqUt

— Mustafa Barghouti @Mustafa_Barghouti (@MustafaBarghou1) February 23, 2026

Detainees were forced to lay on the floor and were handcuffed, visitors to the prison said. 

A source at the IPS indicated this is the way detainees are restrained during operational activity. 

After a Q&A session was held, the settlers were served a specially prepared lavish lunch, the report noted. 

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With the arrival of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, reports of abuse and torture have only increased. 

The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said in a statement over the weekend that prisoners are not only deprived of the proper knowledge of time, in order to begin and break their fast, but that they weren't informed of Ramadan's arrival in the first place. 

Khaled Mahajna, the commission’s lawyer, recalled an instance where he asked a prisoner how his fast was going.

"He looked at me and said, 'Today is Ramadan?! No one told us it started'," Mahajna said, underscoring that the prison administration is attempting to "obliterate" the joy of Palestinian prisoners. 

The lawyer and human rights advocate added that prisoners are denied suhoor, a pre-dawn meal eaten before Muslims begin their fast, while their iftar - breaking of the fast - is only met with scraps of food.