Who Profits report: Corporations profit from Israeli prisons

26th January 2014 | Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

Who Profits report: Corporations profit from Israeli prisonsWho Profits released the following report on the involvement of Israeli and multinational corporations in the Israeli prison system:

On December 2013, the Israel Prison Service (IPS) responded to a freedom of information request by Who Profits, which was submitted three months earlier, regarding twenty-two corporations that provide services to Israeli prisons.

These companies mainly provide security equipment and services to incarceration facilities that hold Palestinian prisoners and detainees inside Israel and in the occupied West Bank. These incarceration facilities hold Palestinian political prisoners in violation of international law, and torture and systematic violations of human rights take place within their walls. According to Addameer’s latest monthly detention report (December 2013), there are 5033 Palestinian political prisoners in the Israeli prisons, 173 of whom are minors and 145 are administrative detainees.

The following table is an English translation of information provided by the Israel Prison Service to Who Profits, regarding twenty-two corporations that provide services to Israeli prisons and detention facilities.

Company Name Characteristics of Contract End of Contract Comments Financial Scope
G4S Maintaining supporting management systems, magnetometer gates, scanning machines and ankle monitors During the fiscal year 2015 According to an IPS tender Tens of millions of shekels
3M Based on occasional bids
MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS ISRAEL Maintaining wireless systems and lighting bridgesRepairing wireless devices During the fiscal year 2016 According to an IPS tender Tens of millions of shekels
HEWLETT- PACKARD (HP) PrintersMaintaining HP systems and central servers During the fiscal year 2016 Tenders by the Accountant General + tenders by the IPS Tens of millions of shekels
MERKAVIM TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGIES Based on occasional bids
MAYER’S CARS AND TRUCKS Based on occasional bids
VOLVO GROUP Based on occasional bids
Biosense Supplying and maintaining a dog-bark identification system During the fiscal year 2014 According to an IPS tender Hundreds of thousands of shekels
Myform Based on occasional bids
MIRS COMMUNICATIONS Purchase of battery servicesProviding wireless services During the fiscal year 2016 Tenders by the Accountant General + Tenders by the IPS Hundreds of thousands of shekels
AFCON HOLDINGS Installing, providing year-round service and maintaining fire detection systems During the fiscal year 2015 According to an IPS tender Tens of millions of shekels
Contact Based on occasional bids
SHAMRAD ELECTRONICS Relocating communication infrastructureSupplying electronic equipmentRepairing sound system During the fiscal year 2015 According to an IPS tender Tens of millions of shekels
B.G. ILANIT GATES AND URBAN ELEMENTS Based on occasional bids
Dadash Hadarom Distribution Purchase of canteen products 31/07/14 According to a tender
Shekem Based on occasional bids
Shiran Based on occasional bids
S.I.R.N. Based on occasional bids
Shekel Based on occasional bids
ASHTROM GROUP Based on occasional bids
Lymtech Based on occasional bids

 

Who Profits also provides documentation and research on several of these companies at the links below:

Photos: Rally to save sick prisoner Ibrahim Bitar follows Gaza sit-in for detainees

 20th January 2014 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza Team | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

Dozens of Palestinians joined a rally organized by the Popular Campaign to Save the Life of the Captive Patient Ibrahim Bitar outside the International Committee of the Red Cross’ Gaza office this morning.

(Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Joe Catron)

The gathering followed a weekly sit-in by families and supporters of Palestinian detainees that has been held in the ICRC courtyard every Monday morning since 1995.

(Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Joe Catron)

Bitar, a resident of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip, has been sentenced by Israeli forces to 17 years and is held by them in Nafha prison. He has been diagnosed with blood disorders and leukemia, and recently underwent back surgery to remove a tumor, according to Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. The Hussam Association, a Gaza-based society of current and former Palestinian detainees, reports that Israeli forces have prevented his family from visiting him for the past two months.

Ibrahim Bitar's mother sits between two young supporters. (Photo by Joe Catron)
Ibrahim Bitar’s mother sits between two young supporters. (Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Joe Catron)
(Photo by Joe Catron)