Israeli court delays Ben-Gvir’s plans for an Israeli ‘Crocodile Alcatraz’

An animal welfare group’s appeal to an Israeli court is delaying plans to surround a high-security prison for Palestinians with Nile crocodiles.

The proposed 560-foot moat was first floated by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in December. If built, it would surround a special wing at Ketziot Prison in southern Israel holding Palestinian security prisoners, including members of Hamas’ Nukhba force who took part in the 7 October, 2023, invasion of Israel.

“Anyone who murdered, massacred and raped and behaved like an animal deserves to be guarded by an animal just like them,” a statement from Ben-Gvir’s ministry said at the time.

The project moved forward last month after Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman reclassified crocodiles from protected wildlife to “tended wild animals,” allowing security agencies to house them at their facilities. Her nod came despite objections from Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority and her ministry’s legal adviser, who said Silman did not have the required legal authority to make the reclassification.

After Silman’s announcement, Ben-Gvir shared an AI-generated image of himself petting a crocodile on a leash alongside the caption, “Are you thinking of attempting to escape? Think again.”

Let the Animals Live, an animal welfare group, petitioned against Silman’s decision. The Jerusalem District Court on 2 August issued a temporary order barring the crocodiles’ transfer. The state has until 16 August to respond.

The petition argues that using crocodiles as prison guards would cause the animals severe suffering, removing them from an environment not amenable to their thriving, and could endanger both the public and the reptiles. Let the Animals Live also contends that Silman lacked the authority to create what amounts to a new legal category for wildlife through a ministerial declaration rather than legislation.

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority said in a statement that there was no sufficient professional basis for using crocodiles at security facilities and warned that the plan posed significant risks to public safety, the environment and the animals’ welfare, including the possibility that the crocodiles could escape.

Ben-Gvir accused the court of siding with terrorists after the injunction was issued. “Once again the legal system is on the side of the terrorists and against the people of Israel,” he wrote on social media.

His ministry has allocated 21 million shekels, about $7 million (£5.2 million), for the project, according to Channel 12 News. The plans include provisions for feeding and caring for the crocodiles, as well as specially designed resting areas.

The proposal was inspired by Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz,” the remote migrant detention centre promoted by the Trump administration. Unlike Ben-Gvir’s plan, animals were not brought to the Florida facility or kept as a man-made security barrier. Officials instead pointed to the alligators, crocodiles and pythons already inhabiting the surrounding Everglades as a deterrent to escape. Florida shut down Alligator Alcatraz in June because of difficulties meeting operational costs. It also faced lawsuits.

Senior Israel Prison Service officials visited the Hamat Gader crocodile farm in January to learn how the animals are kept in captivity.

Yosi Mousanejad, the Hamat Gader site’s manager, told Channel 14 that the delegation came “to study” the animals. They appeared not to know that crocodiles are largely inactive during the winter, he said, a factor that could limit their effectiveness as a year-round security measure.

Mousanejad also told the Kan broadcaster that he had no intention of supplying any of the farm’s roughly 200 crocodiles to the prison system.