An Israeli court has temporarily blocked a controversial plan by radical National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to place crocodiles in a moat surrounding Ketziot Prison, suspending the transfer of the animals while legal challenges against the proposal are examined.
The Jerusalem District Court issued the injunction Sunday after Israeli animal welfare organization Let the Animals Live petitioned against the project, arguing that the government's decision to strip Nile crocodiles of their protected status ignored expert advice and exceeded its legal authority.
The petition targets a decision by Environment Minister Idit Silman, who last month reclassified Nile crocodiles as a "tended" wild species, paving the way for their relocation to a security moat currently under construction around Ketziot Prison in southern Israel.
The legal challenge has also highlighted objections raised by Israel's own environmental authorities. The Nature and Parks Authority previously said it had found no professional or scientific justification for using crocodiles as part of a prison security system, warning that introducing a large predatory species into an unsuitable environment could endanger both wildlife and the public.
Despite those warnings, Ben Gvir's office has insisted the project is moving ahead, confirming that excavation work for the moat is already underway. Rejecting criticism that the proposal was merely political theater, the minister's office said detailed operational plans had already been prepared, including arrangements for caring for the reptiles.
According to Israeli officials, the National Security Ministry has allocated 21 million shekels (about $7 million) for construction of the moat system.
The proposal has attracted widespread criticism for prioritizing spectacle over evidence-based security policy, with opponents arguing that the government is pursuing an unprecedented measure despite objections from legal experts, conservation authorities and animal welfare advocates.
Ben Gvir's initiative has been compared to the recently opened South Florida Detention Facility in the Florida Everglades, nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz," where migrants are held in a remote area surrounded by dangerous wildlife. That facility has also faced legal challenges and criticism over detention conditions as well as environmental concerns.
The Israeli Prison Service prepared a plan to care for, supervise and house the crocodiles, while prison officers received training on how to handle them.
Harsh conditions
Israel has arrested hundreds of Palestinians since Oct. 8, 2023, claiming they belong to the Nukhba unit of Hamas’s military wing, and plans to try them before special courts.
Ben-Gvir previously published videos from the special wing at Ketziot to show harsh detention conditions, including preventing detainees from leaving the wing, depriving them of blankets and food, and forcing them to sleep on iron sheets.
Ketziot, located in the Negev desert, is Israel’s largest prison and includes sections for Palestinian "security” detainees. It has long been used to hold detainees from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
According to Palestinian prisoner institutions, the number of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons has risen 83% since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza in October 2023, exceeding 9,600 detainees compared with around 5,250 before the war.