THE MASADA UNIT: THE ISRAEL PRISON SERVICE’S ELITE CONTROL AND RESTRAINT UNIT

Major Orit Stelser, Deputy IPS Spokesperson
Israel Prison Service

Masada is the Israel Prison Service’s (IPS) operational control unit, which acts during complex incidents within the prison facilities of the IPS, while offering operational assistance to other security services.
The Masada Unit meets the highest local and international standards for special units in this unique area of expertise and in the use of non-lethal force.
The unit was established at the end of 2003 and falls under the direct command of the Head of Security of the Israel Prison Service.

Background — Masada Unit Formation
The inmate population in Israel is comprised of a large number of inmates who represent a security threat or a threat to the safety and welfare of the Israeli public. These inmates pose a constant threat to prison staff, often trying to disrupt the prison’s order and schedule.  This phenomenon is seen in the sharp rise of attacks on IPS staff, along with disturbances, unruliness and attempted hostage taking for later use in negotiations. In the annals of Israel’s history, dozens of hostages have been taken behind the prison walls. Previously, at the outbreak of these events, the IPS would rely on assistance from external forces. The change in circumstances and the increase in frequency of these events required urgent reassessment of security needs and organizational redeployment, including the use of non-lethal force to neutralize incidents in a manner that did not endanger the lives of the inmates.

In the summer of 2003, a decision was made after the events at Shikma Prison during which hundreds of murderous terrorists caused an uproar behind the prison walls. The Commander of the Israel Prison Service decided to establish a groundbreaking special unit, a unit that could handle any possible event in IPS penitentiaries or Israel Defense Force (IDF) stockades. The unit’s expertise would lie in close combat, using advanced non-lethal force.

The Combatants
The unit is comprised of a number of response teams available 24 hours a day. The teams participate in dozens of goal-specific practices every week, focusing on responses to any eventuality, and carry out unique, specific missions within the organization.

 The unit’s members are highly skilled operators, comparable to counter-terrorist units worldwide.  During times of national emergency, the unit responds to the needs of the other security services in Israel, and participates in special forces training exercises at a national level.

All unit members had experience as combat soldiers during their IDF service (Infantryman 07 minimum). Most of them had been officers in elite commando units from the IDF’s various branches.

The combatants took an active part in past special operations both in Israel and abroad and all are experts in close-quarter combat, Krav Maga (an Israeli art of self-defense), sniper marksmanship, bodyguarding and more.

All of the unit’s members have passed a half-year course that included unique, goal-oriented subjects, as well as training in close-quarter combat with units both in Israel and abroad.

The Unit’s Missions:

• Hostage rescue through domination over hostile forces within IPS prison facilities
• Control over inmates during attempted abductions for negotiation purposes, riots, etc., while halting any life-threatening situations
• Securing IPS mobile inmate facilities (inmate transport) from attacks by hostile forces
• Supporting various branches of Israel’s security apparatus: IDF, Border Police, Israel Police
• Negotiation for intelligence gathering and operational ability.

Compartmentation is the Keyword of  the Masada Unit
Compartmentation between the teams in their missions means that the combatants are steeped in secrecy, both in their names and in their appearance. To the members of Masada, it is clear that any leak, no matter how small, is liable to compromise a mission, to disastrous consequences —an outcome where lives may hang in the balance. In every operation, the members of Masada wear black balaclavas. No importance is attached to names, only the professionalism of the combatant behind the mask.

Compartmentation also prevents any disclosures of the unit’s physical or military means. Even when going on a search mission — even with focused information — Masada’s combatants carry out such precise work, that they will find the object of their search, even if they are unaware what it is prior to the search itself. Searches are conducted in the environs, such that other hidden contraband may be found.

Prepared for Any Possible Scenario
Unit members invest hundreds of hours every month on diligent reckoning,
planning, study and practice. Within this framework of exhaustive training, the unit prepares itself for response to any incident, including the most complex possible. Carrying out such operations requires the gathering and use of field intelligence at the most precise level possible, even in extreme situations. Based on this operational intelligence, responses are planned for any event. No two incidents are alike. Such operational training requires physical effort, precise attention and planning to the minutest detail. The unit is trained by a skilled team of instructors, highly experienced in different fields, with each instructor an expert in his field. The instruction is carried out at a training complex and at the various prison facilities.

The unit’s command staff has developed suitable combat regulations according to the Israel Prison Service’s defined requirements and military objectives in combating criminal and security terrorism.