Israel's Ben-Gvir threatens Palestinian detainees with death penalty during prison visit

Far-right minister previously boasted about harsh conditions and mistreatment of detainees

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has posted a video of himself openly calling for the execution of Palestinian prisoners as he stands over detainees lying face down with their hands tied behind their backs.

In a video shared on his personal Telegram channel, the far-right minister can be seen addressing the camera while pointing at a dozen prisoners prostrate in front of an Israeli flag.

“These guys, the Nukhba who came to kill children, women, our babies. Look at them today,” the minister says in the footage, referring to the special forces unit of Hamas's military wing. “But there's still something that must be done: death penalty for the terrorists,” he adds.

This is the second prison visit by the minister this month during which he has pushed for the death penalty. On October 22, another video showed Mr Ben-Gvir looking through the window of a prison cell, where detainees are seen crouching face down on the floor.

“The rule here is when you knock, all the Nukhbas are on the floor … No marmalades, no chocolates, no TV, no radio. Everything that was here we took. But there must be one more thing: the death penalty for terrorists,” he says to the camera.

Israeli forces have detained thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since October 2023, many of whom have been held without charge and are subject to torture and abuse, according to human rights groups.

Dozens of bodies of Palestinians handed over by Israel under the Gaza ceasefire agreement were unidentified and mutilated. The Palestinian Centre for Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons said that while “some of the bodies were delivered intact, others were only partial remains”.

The centre said this raised “serious concerns about the circumstances of their deaths and the conditions of their detention”.

Israel on Thursday banned the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from visiting Palestinian prisoners detained under a law targeting “unlawful combatants”. Introduced in 2002, the law allows for the indefinite detention of individuals without charge in military detention centres.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the ban aims to protect the county's security, but the ICRC said the purpose of its visits is “purely humanitarian”.

“We aim to assess the treatment and conditions of detainees and work with the detaining authorities on ensuring these conditions are according to international standards,” it said in a statement.

UN condemns Israeli minister for taunting Palestinian detainee Marwan Barghouti

01:08

Mr Ben-Gvir has previously boasted about the harsh prison conditions and mistreatment of detainees. Earlier this month, he called for international activists detained on board a Gaza-bound aid flotilla aiming to break Israel's siege to “receive no special treatment”.

He said he “was proud that we treat flotilla activists as terror supporters”, adding that “they should feel what the conditions in Ketziot Prison are like, and think twice before approaching Israel again.”

During Israel's war on Gaza, the far-right minister also instructed that images of destruction in the enclave be displayed in prison courtyards, for Palestinian prisoners to see them constantly.

In another video that sparked massive outrage, Mr Ben-Gvir appeared with Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, who had not been seen in years, threatening him inside his prison cell. Barghouti is the most senior Palestinian leader in jail – and the most popular.

The undated video showed the far-right minister entering the solitary confinement section of an Israeli prison and confronting a visibly frail Barghouti. Surrounded by guards and cameras, he says, “You will not defeat us. Whoever targets the people of Israel and kills our sons and women will be erased. You must know this.”