Prison service says taking measures to block ‘public displays of joy’ when Palestinians are released

The Israel Prison Service says it is taking measures to prevent any “public displays of joy” when Palestinian prisoners are released as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

It says in a statement that it was preparing for the release of prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages held in Gaza, which the Prime Minister’s Office said could begin on Sunday.

The prison service says that two jails, one near Jerusalem and another near the southern city of Ashkelon, had begun preparations for the releases by gathering prisoners to be freed.

“The commissioner of the Israel Prison Service, Kobi Yakobi, instructed that… to prevent public displays of joy in Ashkelon and other areas of Israel, the escort from ‘Shikma’ Prison will not be handled by civilian buses of the [International Committee of the] Red Cross,” the statement says.

The Geneva-based ICRC oversaw the only previous prisoner exchange of the war, in November 2023, when 105 hostages held in Gaza were freed, the 80 Israelis among them in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Instead “special units” from the prison service would handle transport, the statement says.

Yakobi also tells prisoners earmarked for release to “refrain from expressions of joy within Israel.”