Ben-Gvir posts prison video, says he is responsible for harsh conditions
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Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted footage from a prison holding Palestinian women, telling detainees he is directly responsible for harsh conditions. Palestinian groups condemned the video as humiliation and intimidation. The footage shows Ben-Gvir confronting prisoners about complaints over showers, medical care, and clothing.
Key Facts
- Ben-Gvir posted the video on his X account on Sunday, showing him entering a women's section and telling prisoners: "The good conditions in the prisons are over."
- A prisoner in the video says: "This is our third day without showering. We are not receiving medical treatment, and our clothes are not clean."
- Gaza's Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs says about 9,400 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, including 88 women and more than 350 children.
- The Palestinian Prisoner's Society says hundreds of testimonies from released detainees document serious abuses inside Israeli prisons.
The Prison Video
Ben-Gvir posted the footage on his X account on Sunday, showing him entering a section holding female prisoners and confronting them about their complaints regarding detention conditions. One prisoner tells him: "This is our third day without showering. We are not receiving medical treatment, and our clothes are not clean." Ben-Gvir responds: "The good conditions in the prisons are over. This is the current situation, and I am directly responsible for everything. I am pleased with these conditions." In a post accompanying the video, the far-right minister wrote that the "whining" of prisoners over their conditions would not influence him, arguing that Israeli captives held in Gaza had not enjoyed adequate conditions.
Palestinian Condemnation
Gaza's Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs condemned Ben-Gvir's visit, saying the filming of female prisoners amounted to intimidation and humiliation. The commission said his entry into the women's section was "not an inspection visit", but rather a "political spectacle and public incitement against the female prisoners" aimed at intimidating them and breaking their will in front of cameras. The Palestinian Prisoner's Society also condemned the footage, telling Al Jazeera that Ben-Gvir's filming and publication of the women constituted "an assault on their human dignity". The society said hundreds of testimonies from released detainees and prisoners had documented serious abuses inside Israeli prisons and detention facilities.
Harsher Conditions Policy
Since becoming national security minister in late 2022, Ben-Gvir has pushed for tougher conditions for Palestinian prisoners, including reducing food and water supplies, restricting family visits, limiting shower times and removing privileges inside prison sections. He has also overseen the transfer of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners between facilities. In 2025, he publicly opposed an Israeli court ruling requiring authorities to ensure Palestinian prisoners received adequate food, insisting that harsh conditions should continue. According to the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, about 9,400 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli prisons, including 88 women and more than 350 children.
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Ben-Gvir posts prison video, says he is responsible for harsh conditions
