Israeli officials push crocodile-guarded prison plan despite court injunction

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s National Security Minister, and Idit Silman, the Environment Protection Minister, have pressed forward with a scheme to line a moat at Ketziot prison with Nile crocodiles, despite a Jerusalem District Court injunction that barred the animals’ relocation. The ministers toured the partially built moat on Aug. 5, posting messages that framed the crocodiles as a more humane fate for the Palestinian detainees inside.

Silman reinstated the “cultivated wildlife” legal category to permit the use of crocodiles for “security purposes,” a move opposed by dozens of leading ecologists and the minister’s own legal counsel. Critics note that crocodiles are inactive for much of the year, costly to maintain, and far less effective than modern surveillance technologies. The project has already received roughly US$7 million in government funding and an architect has been hired to add shade structures for the animals. The injunction remains in force while the case proceeds through the courts.