Officials in Israel’s National Security Ministry said claims that prisoners convicted of terrorism are receiving fertility preservation treatment are false. They said a review found no such treatment is being provided under the ministry’s responsibility, and told Haredi lawmaker Michal Waldiger to check the matter with the Health Ministry if she wants a deeper review.
Waldiger, chair of the Labor and Welfare Committee, had sent letters to the health minister, the defense minister and the national security minister demanding an immediate halt to the alleged treatments. She also asked for data on how many such procedures were being carried out, how much they cost the state, and who approved applying the procedure to prisoners in Israeli jails.
The ministry rejected her allegations outright, saying there is no basis for the claim that the state is funding fertility preservation for terrorists. Officials stressed that no such procedure exists within the ministry’s framework and that the issue should not be presented as though it were factual.
They also accused Waldiger of launching a publicity-driven campaign to create public attention, calling it, in their words, “public relations and nothing more,” and saying she was trying to generate media buzz at the minister’s expense.
