Tel aviv: Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Sunday that he is "pleased" with the harsh treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, adding that he is directly responsible for the prison conditions.
According to Anadolu Agency, his remarks came in a video released on the US social media company X during which he was talking to Palestinian female prisoners. A Palestinian prisoner in the video stated, "The conditions here are very bad, and we women are not afforded any special rights, such as access to personal necessities." She further added, "This is our third day without showers. We are not receiving medical treatment, and our clothes are not clean."
Ben-Gvir responded through an interpreter, stating, "The good conditions that used to exist in the prisons are over," and wrote in a post accompanying the video, "The 'whining' of the terrorists about the conditions in the prisons doesn't work on me." When the female prisoner asked for improved prison conditions, Ben-Gvir rejected her request.
This incident is not isolated; in August, Ben-Gvir mocked a female prisoner who complained about her detention's poor conditions, telling her that 'prison is not a hotel.' The Palestinian Prisoner Society has condemned Ben-Gvir's actions as an attempt "to normalize scenes of humiliation and torture and turn them into a political achievement," adding that his actions are aimed at gaining support within Israeli society.
The group highlighted that Ben Gvir's actions occur amid harsh conditions imposed by Israeli prison authorities and an escalation in policies of isolation, restrictions, and deprivation of basic rights. They cited hundreds of testimonies about torture and abuse since the start of Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, including beatings, humiliation, starvation, denial of medical care, and isolation.
The Palestinian Prisoner Society described Israel's prison system as "one of the most prominent arenas of the crime of genocide," noting that over 100 Palestinian prisoners and detainees have died since the war began in October 2023. Since taking office in late 2022, Ben-Gvir has implemented policies to tighten detention conditions for Palestinian prisoners, including starvation, medical neglect, torture, and solitary confinement.
Currently, around 9,500 Palestinian prisoners are held in Israeli jails, including 94 women and more than 350 children, who suffer from starvation, torture, and medical neglect, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights reports.