The Israeli administration has laid the legal groundwork for a project to surround a prison holding thousands of Palestinian detainees with crocodiles. Environment Minister Idit Silman, following National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's proposal, reclassified crocodiles from 'wild animal' to 'farmed wild animal'. This change removed the obstacle to placing crocodiles around Ktzi'ot Prison in the Negev Desert.
According to Israel's Channel 13, a legal arrangement was made for the plan that the Nature and Parks Authority had opposed. Ben-Gvir first floated the 'crocodile prison' idea last December in a meeting with Prisons Service Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi. The minister had proposed surrounding a high-security prison with crocodiles to prevent escape attempts.
After the proposal, prison officials inspected the Hamat Gader facility, which hosts Israel's largest crocodile farm. The officials assessed the purchase and care processes for crocodiles. A small crocodile costs about $8,000, while an adult crocodile is priced at around $20,000.
Israeli journalist Amit Segal published an official document from the Ministry of Environmental Protection dated July 15, 2026. The document, bearing Minister Silman's signature, shows that crocodiles were reclassified as 'farmed wild animals' and subjected to conditions such as licensing, marking, and inspection. Segal stated that the decision grants the Israel Prison Service the authority to possess crocodiles and place them around the designated security prison, and that this was carried out as part of an agreement between Ben-Gvir and Silman.
Ben-Gvir, on his Telegram account, shared a photo of himself next to a crocodile, saying, 'Minister Ben-Gvir and Minister Silman are cooperating to encircle prisons with crocodiles.' The post included the message, 'Damn saboteur, if you're thinking of escaping, think again.'
According to the latest data from Palestinian prisoner institutions, there are approximately 9,400 Palestinian and Arab detainees in Israeli prisons. Of these, 99 are women, more than 350 are children, and 3,244 are administrative detainees. The institutions state that the detainees face severe inhumane conditions such as torture, starvation, medical neglect, and solitary confinement, and that dozens of detainees have died in prisons since the start of the war on Gaza.
