Israel Plans to Deploy Crocodiles as Prison 'Guards'

Israel has caused a global stir after revealing a plan to use crocodiles to help maintain security in its prisons, specifically to prevent Palestinian detainees from escaping. The idea of using wild animals as prison ‘guards’ was proposed by Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who previously went viral for inhumane actions against Global Sumud Flotilla 2.0 activists last May. Ben-Gvir put forward his proposal after Israel’s Environmental Protection Minister, Idit Silman, changed the classification of crocodiles from wild animals to ‘captive-bred wildlife’. Silman’s decision paves the way for the use of the reptiles for security purposes, including preventing prison escapes. Ben-Gvir, known as a hardline and controversial minister, welcomed the decision. In a Facebook post, he uploaded an AI-generated image of himself holding a rope attached to a crocodile, accompanied by the message: ‘Are you thinking of trying to escape? Think again.’ The caption read: ‘Minister Ben-Gvir and Minister Silman are working together to surround the prison with crocodiles!’ Ben-Gvir reportedly proposed the measure last December, suggesting that prisons holding Palestinian detainees be surrounded by crocodiles, a move mimicking the ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration detention facility in Florida, USA. Local television station Channel 13 reported that the Israel Nature and Parks Authority initially opposed Ben-Gvir’s proposal when he first floated the idea last year. The reclassification by the Environmental Protection Ministry transfers oversight of the reptiles from the relevant authority to a ‘security agency’. The Israel Prison Service, which is managed by Ben-Gvir, is one such agency. The regulation, passed on Wednesday (15/7), stipulates that Nile crocodiles may be bred provided ‘the animals are kept by a security agency… under conditions set by the Director (of the Nature and Parks Authority) to prevent their release into the wild, and subject to the decision of the Minister of Environmental Protection that possession of the animals is required for security purposes’. Israeli media reported that Ben-Gvir intends to place the crocodiles around Ketziot Prison in southern Israel, which holds many Hamas militants captured after the 7 October 2023 attack that triggered a major war in the Gaza Strip. Channel 13 added that the proposal was initially met with ridicule by several officials within the Israel Prison Service before its approval.