Israeli authorities had at least one "Prisoner X" in custody in the 1970s, former Military Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. (ret.) Shlomo Gazit confirmed Saturday in an interview with Army Radio.
The interview followed reports suggesting that a second unnamed man suspected of severe security offenses was being held in Israel in conditions similar to the incarceration of former Mossad agent Ben Zygier, who committed suicide in 2010 while in a maximum security prison. The news caused an uproar and harsh criticism was leveled at the government for apparently withholding the information from the public.
"Thirty-five years ago, in my capacity is head of Military Intelligence, I approved the detention of a 'Prisoner X' in an isolated detention facility," Gazit, who served as head of Military Intelligence between 1974 and 1979, said.
"I did so with a clear conscience, while fully realizing the security and political implications of that decision should it ever became public. My superiors signed off on my decision. The matter was also brought to the attention of the judiciary, which handled it with the utmost secrecy.
"The fact that we even had to hold someone in those conditions was incredible. I don't know whether Ben Zygier's case or that of Prisoner X2, which I know nothing about, are similar to that one. I don't know, but I doubt it," he said.
"The affair ended a long time ago and I was pleased to see none of it ever leaked [to the media]. Even so, and despite the fact that several decades have gone by, making the details pubic could still cause significant damage."
Gazit noted that the decision to hold an individual in complete isolation "was highly unconventional at that time as well, but the situation warranted it."
"Not only did the public not have the right to know, it absolutely had to be kept ignorant of it," Gazit said.
"The system overseeing the intelligence services, the legal system, had to know. Moreover, it had to be the kind of legal system that didn't just sign off on something like that just because an [intelligence] service head came to them and said someone had to be detained. Such considerations must always be carefully scrutinized.
"The public does not always have the right to know. It has no use for such information, it has no say in the matter and it can only damage [proceedings]."
Gazit qualified his statement over the current cases, telling Army Radio that "from what I understand, in today's cases both the legal system and the family are kept informed."
But he added, "If one of the intelligence services is in a position where they think it is absolutely imperative to hold someone under such conditions, in complete isolation, it has to remain secret."
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