Israeli court blocks Ben Gvir crocodile moat plan for prisons holding Palestinians

An Israeli court has blocked a plan by far right minister Itamar Ben Gvir to place crocodiles in moats encircling prisons where Palestinian prisoners are being held, Israeli media is reporting.

Israeli authorities have reportedly already begun digging trenches around a section of Ketziot Prison in the Negev desert, in northern Israel.

Under the plan spearheaded by Ben Gvir, and backed by his National Security Ministry and the Israel Prison Service (IPS), Nile crocodiles will be installed in the trenches.

But Israeli broadcaster KAN reported that the Jerusalem District Court had issued a temporary injunction on Sunday, hours after an animal rights organisation filed a petition against Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman, Ben Gvir and the IPS.

The legal challenge – which was filed by Let the Animals Live – centres on concerns around the mistreatment of animals and the danger posed to prison staff, rather than over the escalating abuse of Palestinian prisoners.

In July 2025, Silman reclassified the Nile crocodile from a protected species to a “tended animal”, clearing the way for their introduction to prisons.

The petition disputed the move, demanding that the animals be newly redesignated as a protected species, and arguing that Silman had ignored the opinions of legal advisers and the Nature and Parks Authority.

Judge Abvraham Rubin said in his Sunday ruling that: “The claims regarding the expected harm to the crocodiles merit investigation and justify issuing an order prohibiting the transfer, or any action related to locating or preparing crocodiles for transfer.”

He ordered that the temporary injunction will remain in place until a further ruling on the matter, giving Silman, Ben Gvir and the IPS until Wednesday to respond to the petition.

Israel’s environmental bodies have long opposed Ben Gvir’s scheme, with the Environmental Protection Ministry and the Nature and Parks Authority arguing that Silman’s reclassification of the crocodiles has no scientific basis, and warning that the transfer of the animals could endanger prison staff.

The plan is the latest in a series of measures proposed by Ben Gvir to make detention conditions for Palestinian prisoners even more unbearable, including visitation bans, food deprivation, medical neglect, torture and solitary confinement.

On Sunday, footage circulated online of the far-right minister mocking a female Palestinian prisoner complaining of her poor detention conditions.

According to Palestinian prisoner advocacy groups, over 9,600 Palestinians are held in Israeli custody, including 84 women and 350 children, where they are subject to mistreatment – including medical neglect, beatings and rape – tantamount to systematic torture.