Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has proposed creating a “detention facility surrounded by crocodiles” to hold Palestinian prisoners, Israeli media reported on Sunday.
Channel 13 said the Israel Prison Service (IPS) is reviewing what it described as “an unusual proposal” aimed at preventing jailbreak attempts.
Orly Noy, the chair of Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem, said the plan is “another grotesque example of the cannibal stage in which Israel is at right now”.
“For decades, Israel has been digging trenches and building walls and fences and gates, yet people’s sense of security is still deteriorating,” Noy told Middle East Eye.
“They will try anything before trying justice and peace. One can only wonder what will be the next stage after this.
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“The only thing left is just plain shooting at people in daylight in the streets. I don’t think that there is much left besides that right now.”
Ben Gvir raised the idea during a recent security briefing with IPS Chief Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi, according to Channel 13.
The report said the proposed site would be near Hamat Gader, a hot springs resort in northern Israel in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. According to Israeli media, the resort already has a controlled alligator habitat, and crocodiles would be brought in for the prison – housed in a fenced enclosure to prevent escape attempts.
The proposal comes as the Israeli parliament is expected to soon vote on a bill put forward by Ben Gvir that would allow the execution of Palestinian prisoners accused of planning or carrying out attacks.
The death penalty bill is expected to go through two more readings in the Knesset, including one next week, before being passed into official law.
The bill was initially intended to allow judges to impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis on so-called “nationalistic” grounds.
The legislation would not apply to Israelis who kill Palestinians under similar circumstances.
A new addition announced by Ben Gvir earlier this week expands the draft legislation to include those accused of perpetrating attacks on 7 October 2023, who will receive the death penalty as a “mandatory sentence”.
