By Hammad Kahlun
Scandinavian news Finland
The Ben-Gvir crocodile moat plan to ring part of Ketziot Prison with Nile crocodiles has been temporarily frozen by an Israeli court, after an animal-rights group argued the project was unlawful.
The Jerusalem District Court issued the injunction on Sunday, barring authorities from transferring any crocodiles to the facility while it reviews the case.
How the plan came about
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has championed a project to build a water-filled moat around a wing of Ketziot Prison, Israel’s largest detention facility, located in the Negev desert.
The moat is meant to be stocked with Nile crocodiles to deter escape attempts by prisoners held there. Ben-Gvir has said the project was modeled on a detention facility in Florida.
To make the plan legally possible, Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silm
Why the court intervened
The injunction followed an emergency petition from the Israeli animal-welfare group Let the Animals Live.
The group argued the government’s decision to strip Nile crocodiles of protected status ignored expert advice and exceeded its legal authority.
Judge Avraham Rubin’s order gave the state until Wednesday to respond to the petition, leaving the project’s future undecided.
Israel’s own wildlife regulator had also raised objections before the case reached court.
The Nature and Parks Authority said it had found no professional or scientific basis anywhere in the world for using crocodiles as a detention-facility security measure, warning that introducing a large, long-lived, non-native predator could pose risks to the environment and the public.
Construction already under way
Despite the legal challenge, groundwork on the moat had already begun before the ruling. Officials said digging was under way around one of the prison’s special wings, describing a moat roughly 170 meters (560 feet) long that isn’t visible from outside the facility.
Ben-Gvir’s office said the National Security Ministry had budgeted NIS 21 million ($7 million) for construction of the trenches.
Public broadcaster KAN also reported that excavation work had begun before the court order, and the injunction does not appear to halt that preparatory construction.
Key facts
- An Israeli court froze the transfer of crocodiles to Ketziot Prison on Sunday, pending review of a legal petition.
- The plan, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, would place Nile crocodiles in a moat around one prison wing.
- Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman reclassified crocodiles as “managed wild animals” to enable the plan.
- Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority opposed the project, citing lack of scientific precedent and public-safety risk.
- Excavation of the roughly 170-meter moat had already started before the court order.
FAQs:
What is the Ben-Gvir crocodile moat plan?
It’s a proposal by Israel’s National Security Minister to place Nile crocodiles in a security moat around part of Ketziot Prison to deter escapes.
Why did a court block it?
An animal-rights group, Let the Animals Live, petitioned that the government’s reclassification of crocodiles exceeded its legal authority; a judge froze the transfer pending review.
Has construction stopped?
No. Reports indicate excavation of the moat continued even after the injunction, which applies to transferring the crocodiles, not the construction itself.
Who is held at Ketziot Prison?
Mostly Palestinians classified by Israel as security detainees, including West Bank and Gaza detainees and some held without trial.
Has Ben-Gvir responded to the ruling?
Yes he criticized the court, saying it was aiding “terrorists” and undermining deterrence.
Ben-Gvir’s reaction
Ben-Gvir criticized the ruling publicly. He said the legal system was once again “siding with the terrorists” in wartime, calling the injunction a setback for Israeli deterrence, and claimed the ruling had come to the aid of prisoners worried about the crocodiles’ arrival.
Ketziot Prison primarily holds Palestinians whom Israel classifies as security detainees, including people held from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, members of Palestinian armed groups, and administrative detainees held without trial.
The plan has drawn criticism from Palestinian rights advocates, who view it as part of a broader pattern of harsh treatment in Israeli detention facilities, though this report focuses on the verified legal and administrative record of the case rather than that wider debate.
National Security Minister Ben-Gvir has championed a project to build a water-filled moat around a wing of Ketziot Prison.
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