ISRAELI OCCUPIED GAZA, 22 Dec. - (ANA) -Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has proposed establishing a detention facility for Palestinian prisoners "surrounded by crocodiles", in a chilling escalation of Israel's campaign of cruelty against detainees.

 

Israel's Channel 13 reported on Sunday that Ben-Gvir submitted the proposal to the Israel Prison Service, suggesting the construction of a prison encircled by crocodiles to prevent Palestinian prisoners from escaping.

 

The proposed facility would be built near the Hamat Gader area in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, close to the Jordanian border, according to the broadcaster.

 

The area contains an animal park, from which crocodiles would be transferred to form a living barrier around the prison.

 

Ben-Gvir, leader of the extremist Jewish Power party, raised the proposal during a meeting last week with Israel Prison Service Chief Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi.

 

The proposal is reminiscent of the Trump administration's notorious "Alligator Alcatraz" detention centre, which has been condemned by NGOs for violating the prisoners' human rights.

 

While some police officials reportedly mocked the idea, the prison authority has nevertheless begun examining its feasibility.

 

 

 

 

The proposal comes as the Knesset prepares to vote in second and third readings on a bill sponsored by Ben-Gvir that would impose a mandatory death sentence for Palestinians convicted of planning or carrying out attacks against Israelis.

 

The legislation, which passed its first reading in November, enjoys broad support among Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition.

 

Israeli data cited by local media earlier this month indicated that at least 110 Palestinian prisoners have been killed in Israeli custody since Ben-Gvir assumed office in late 2022.

 

Israel currently holds more than 9,300 Palestinian prisoners, including hundreds of women and children.

 

Palestinian and Israeli human rights organisations report that detainees face systematic torture, starvation, medical neglect and collective punishment - conditions that have led to numerous deaths.

 

 

 

 

Human rights groups say Ben-Gvir has not only overseen but actively incited violence against Palestinian prisoners, boasting about abuse and calling for their torture and killing.

 

In recent months, he has used social media to glorify mistreatment, including videos showing detainees forced to kneel for prolonged periods, denied food, and subjected to humiliation. Former detainees and rights groups describe conditions as the harshest in decades.

 

Earlier this month, Ben-Gvir and other Jewish Power lawmakers appeared in the Knesset wearing golden noose-shaped pins, demonstrating their support for the death penalty bill.

 

Prison policies under Ben-Gvir have been deliberately overhauled to impose collective punishment, including the cancellation of family visits, drastic food reductions, denial of medical care, exposure to extreme cold, and forcing prisoners to sleep on bare metal beds without blankets.

 

A UN committee last month said Israel is operating a "de facto state policy of organised and widespread torture and ill-treatment" of Palestinians. 

 

Many have drawn direct comparisons between Ben-Gvir's policies and the methods used in Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War.

 

Israeli prisons and detention facilities, such as Negev, Ofer, Ashkelon, Gilboa and Sde Teiman, use similar practices to slowly kill inmates through starvation, disease, extreme cold, systematic beatings, psychological torture and deliberate medical neglect.

 

Former Palestinian prisoners say Israeli guards now use air-conditioning units in winter at freezing temperatures to weaken detainees' bodies.

 

Survivor testimonies describe severe weight loss, broken bones, burns, blindfolding, stress positions, waterboarding, sexual violence and rape, alongside the denial of even basic hygiene.

 

Part of a broader genocidal campaign

Rights groups say the escalation inside prisons is inseparable from Israel's wider assault on Palestinians, describing detention centres as extensions of Israel’s genocidal war.

 

Since October 2023, Israel's assault on Gaza has killed around 71,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 171,000, the majority women and children. At the same time, Palestinian prisoners have entered the most violent phase in decades.

 

Former Palestinian prisoners' affairs chief Qaddoura Fares previously warned that tampering with prison conditions could ignite unrest beyond prison walls, describing the current situation as state-sanctioned sadism designed to break Palestinian existence.

 

Human rights organisations continue to call for an urgent, independent international investigation into crimes committed against Palestinian detainees and for the immediate restoration of prison monitoring and family visits. - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/22 December 2025 - - -