Israeli Court Halts Crocodile Moat Plan Around Controversial Prison

Jerusalem District Court Judge Avraham Rubin temporarily barred the relocation of Nile crocodiles to a moat being dug around Ketziot Prison, a facility known for harsh treatment of Palestinian inmates. The injunction follows a petition by the animal-rights group Let the Animals Live, which argued that the recent removal of the crocodile’s protected status was mishandled and that the animals would face severe suffering.

The scheme, championed by national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, draws inspiration from a former U.S. immigration detention concept and has been condemned as a racially charged method of torture. Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority also warned that introducing a large, non-native predator could threaten the local ecosystem and public safety. Ben-Gvir responded by accusing the court of siding with the prisoners, whom he calls terrorists. Construction of the moat had already begun around one of the prison’s special wings before the court’s intervention.