Prison Six

Prison Six (Hebrew: כלא שש‎‎ Kele Shesh), officially Confinement Base 396 (Hebrew: בסיס כליאה 396‎‎ Bsis Kli'a 396) is an Israeli military prison located near Atlit, Israel, on Oren Junction.

It is the second military prison for IDF soldiers, after Prison Four in Tzrifin (Camp Yadin). Prison Six can contain about 350 prisoners.

Prison Six generally contains prisoners from the Northern Command, as well as officers and senior NCOs. During an emergency, the 393rd Battalion takes over Prison Six and converts it into a national POW camp (Hebrew: מחנה שבויים ארצי‎‎ mahane shvu'im artzi) for enemy officers and other quality POWs. Israeli prisoners are either released or transferred to Prison Four.

Prison Six was conceptualized by an officer named Yaakov Markovich, after an analysis of Prison Four's deteriorating conditions (which would improve if the overcapacity was alleviated). Chief Military Police Officer Yosef Pressman pushed for its construction and it was finally built following the 1956 Sinai War.

On November 22, 1969 at about 21:00, Prison Six was flooded due to a powerful rainstorm, and the water level rose to a level of 2 m. The prison's security was compromised when the powerful water current destroyed the front gate and created holes in the outer walls. An attempt was made to open the cells, although due to the flow, this was impossible in many cases. Instead, some of the freed prisoners were given tools to scale the cellblocks and destroy their roofs, so that trapped prisoners could be rescued from above. The prisoners of the three last cells, which were impossible to reach, were able to also receive tools, and destroyed the cell walls from within. The electricity was disconnected in fear of electrocution, and the rest of the work was done in the darkness.

None of the prisoners used the flood as a means to escape, and instead helped in the effort to minimize the damage and prevent injury. As a result, the Aluf of the Manpower Directorate, which is responsible for the Military Police Corps including its prisons, decided to release dozens of prisoners and cancel their sentences. Six soldiers were decorated for their actions during their flood, three of them MPs.

...
Wikipedia