Israel Plans to Deploy Crocodiles as Prison 'Guards'
Israel has caused an international stir after revealing a plan to use crocodiles to help maintain security in its prisons. More precisely, the aim is to prevent Palestinian detainees from escaping from Israeli prisons.
The idea of wild animals serving as prison ‘wardens’ was proposed by Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. He previously went viral for inhumane actions against activists of the Global Sumud Flotilla 2.0 in May.
Returning to the crocodile-as-‘warden’ idea, Ben-Gvir put forward his proposal after Israel’s Environmental Protection Minister, Idit Silman, reclassified crocodiles from wild animals to ‘captive-bred wildlife’.
Silman’s decision opened the way for the reptiles to be used for security purposes, including preventing escape attempts from prisons.
Ben-Gvir, known as a hard-line and controversial minister, welcomed the decision.
Ben-Gvir Posts Warning to Would-Be Escapees
On his Facebook account, Ben-Gvir posted an AI-generated image of himself holding a rope attached to the neck of a crocodile, accompanied by the message: ‘Thinking of trying to escape? Think again.’
‘Ministers Ben-Gvir and Silman are working together to surround prisons with crocodiles!’ Ben-Gvir wrote in the caption of the AI image.
Ben-Gvir was reported to have proposed the measure since December last year, namely that prisons holding Palestinian detainees be surrounded by crocodiles. The move imitates the ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration detention facility in Florida, United States.
Ben-Gvir’s Proposal Once Opposed
A report by Israel’s local television station, Channel 13, stated that the Israel Nature and Parks Authority initially opposed Ben-Gvir’s proposal when he first floated the idea last year.
The reclassification by Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection transfers oversight of the reptiles from the relevant authority to a ‘security body’. The Israel Prison Service, which is overseen by Ben-Gvir, is one of the designated security bodies.
The regulation passed on Wednesday (15 July) local time stipulates that Nile crocodiles may be kept in captivity provided ‘the animals are kept by a security body… under conditions set by the Director (of the Nature and Parks Authority) to prevent the animals’ escape into the wild, and subject to the Environmental Protection Minister’s decision that ownership of the animals is necessary for security purposes’.
Crocodile Deployment Plan
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 — the attack that triggered the large-scale war in the Gaza Strip.
The Channel 13 report added that before it was approved, Ben-Gvir’s proposal was initially ‘met with mockery by a number of officials’ within the Israel Prison Service.