Ben-Gvir's prison policies draw Palestinian detainee testimonies of abuse

September 9, 2026 at 10:04 PM2 min

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Palestinian former prisoner Muath Amarneh says Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's prison policies subject detainees to humiliation and beatings not shown in official videos. Ben-Gvir has posted footage of himself confronting female prisoners, telling one that good conditions are over. Administrative detainees now number roughly 3,200, more than double the pre-October 7, 2023 figure, according to Addameer.

Key Facts

Administrative detainees in Israeli prisons now number roughly 3,200, more than double the approximately 1,300 held before October 7, 2023, according to Addameer.
Muath Amarneh, a 39-year-old photojournalist from Dheisheh refugee camp, was held in administrative detention for nine months in Megiddo and Nafha prisons starting October 2023.
In 2019, Israeli forces shot Amarneh with a rubber-coated metal bullet while he was covering Israeli attacks near Hebron, destroying his left eye and leaving shrapnel near his skull.
Ben-Gvir posted an AI-generated video in August showing Palestinian men entering a detention facility well-fed and emerging emaciated, captioned "We promised, we delivered", before deleting it.

Ben-Gvir's Prison Media

Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees Israel's prison system, has spent recent weeks broadcasting what he views as his accomplishments in office. An AI-generated video posted to his social media in August showed well-fed Palestinian men on a conveyor belt entering a detention facility, then emerging emaciated and weeping, captioned "We promised, we delivered". He deleted the video as comparisons to Nazi concentration camps mounted. Days later, he posted footage of himself confronting female prisoners, telling one who said she had not showered in three days: "The good conditions in the prisons are over. I am directly responsible for everything. I am pleased with these conditions."

Detainee Testimony

Muath Amarneh, 39, now living in Dheisheh refugee camp south of Bethlehem, has been arrested twice since the war on Gaza began, both times under administrative detention. He was first taken into administrative detention in October 2023, a week after the war began, and held for nine months in Megiddo and Nafha prisons. Amarneh said that when Ben-Gvir visits prisons, "before and after, the prisoner is subjected to humiliation and beatings they don't show the public." In 2019, Israeli forces shot him with a rubber-coated metal bullet while he was covering Israeli attacks near Hebron and wearing a press vest, destroying his left eye and leaving shrapnel lodged near his skull.