Israeli Court Halts Ben Gvir's Plan to Place Crocodiles Around Palestinian Prison

Illustration of a crocodile. (Unsplash/Rajeevan/MSN)

Israeli courts have temporarily frozen National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's plan to place crocodiles around Ketziot Prison in the Negev desert in southern Israel, where Palestinian prisoners from the Gaza Strip are held, according to Israeli media on Monday.

Israeli authorities have begun digging trenches around the part of the prison that houses Palestinians detained from Gaza on charges of involvement in the October 7, 2023 incident. According to Ben-Gvir's plan, crocodiles will be placed in these trenches.

Israel's public broadcaster KAN reported that the Jerusalem District Court issued a temporary order on Sunday night after the animal rights organization Let the Animals Live filed a petition against the plan, which was supported by the Israeli Ministry of National Security and Prison Services, quoted by Anadolu (3/8).

Judge Avraham Rubin prohibited the authorities from taking any steps based on the decision of Environment Protection Minister Idit Silman to classify crocodiles as "domesticated wild animals," a legal designation that allows them to be moved and kept in prisons.

The television station said the ruling came hours after the organization filed an administrative petition against Silman, Ben-Gvir, and the Israel Prison Service.

The temporary order will remain in place until authorities submit their response to the court, which is expected to be in mid-August.

According to KAN, the dispute centered on Silman's decision on July 15, which was intended to allow the use of crocodiles as "preventive and security measures in prisons."

The petition argues that the move "changes the legal status of crocodiles and the removal of control and licensing mechanisms imposed on them as protected wild animals."

The broadcaster said Let the Animals Live argued that the Israel Prison Service had started infrastructure work, including digging canals around the prison, adding that the Ministry of National Security allocated 21 million shekels (about 6.9 million US dollars) for the pilot project.

The organization noted that the decision was made without adequate legal authority and ignored professional and legal opinions that warned of risks to animals, society, and the environment, KAN added.

KAN said the government had not presented its official position to the court and was expected to do so in response to a request for a court order.

Separately, Animals Live and the Environmental Justice and Animal Rights Clinic at Tel Aviv University said the court order prevented irreversible work from continuing at this stage and protected the welfare of the animals while they continued to seek a permanent cancellation of the plan.

It is known that since taking office at the end of 2022, Ben-Gvir has overseen the tightening of conditions of detention for Palestinian prisoners, including policies involving starvation, medical neglect, torture, and isolation.

According to Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations, some 9,500 Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli jails in poor conditions, with dozens reported to have died of starvation, torture, and medical neglect.