The State Comptroller, Matanyahu Englman, on Tuesday commented on a report according to which untrained female cadets were ordered to guard captured terrorists from Hamas' Nukhba force.
The Nukhba force was considered the most elite Hamas unit, and was among the first Hamas forces to breach the Israeli border.
"I saw publications according to which the IDF ordered young female cadets in an officers' course to guard the Nukhba terrorists that were captured," he said. "This is contrary to the report on the protection of female soldiers that we published a little over a year ago and teaches that the lessons from the poignant report were not learned."
The report found that there was disturbing sexual conduct by security prisoners towards female soldiers in the Israel Prison Service, and that there was a lack of support from the commanders of the female guards working with security prisoners. After audit teams met with female soldiers who served in all the prisons where security prisoners are held, questionnaires sent to soldiers found that 38 percent of them experienced one or more instances of sexual assault.
"It is unacceptable that after the State of Israel was shocked in the past by imprisoned terrorists who sexually harassed female guards, they would impose on young female cadets in the IDF to guard terrorists who were partners in sexual crimes on October 7. If we add the testimonies we heard recently about kidnapping victims who experienced and are experiencing sexual harassment - the writing is clearly on the wall. I call on the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff to change their decision and not to expose the young female cadets to unnecessary risk of sexual harassment," Englman declared.
The comptroller said that he believes it important that political officials should also start to be examined: "This battle is unlike anything we have seen before," Englman said. "Should the State Comptroller stop its activity and say we will return to work in another year? The answer is no."
"The audit is currently much more focused on the Prime Minister's office, but all levels are under audit. I am the first comptroller who sent a letter to the PM and said, 'These are your failures in handling the home front.'"
The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, responded to the State Comptroller, saying: "The words of the State Comptroller, Matanyahu Englman, according to which 38% of the female soldiers who guarded terrorists testified that they were harassed - prove that the decision I made when I entered the position to remove the female soldiers in mandatory service from the security wings was a correct and justified decision like no other. I call on the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff, who are responsible for the female soldiers, to act like the Israel Prison Service and to stop their service as guards of the Nukhba murderers."