Israel has taken a legal step toward implementing a controversial proposal by extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to surround prisons holding Palestinian detainees with crocodile-filled moats, Hebrew media reports said on Thursday.
Israel’s Channel 7 said Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman signed an order reclassifying crocodiles as “managed wild animals,” allowing government bodies, including the Israel Prison Service, to keep them in their facilities under specified conditions.
The move removes a key legal obstacle that had stymied the plan, as crocodiles were previously classified as protected wild animals that could only be kept in licensed zoos, the broadcaster said.
Channel 13 said the legal change followed objections by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority to the proposed project, dubbed the “crocodile prison” by Hebrew media.
Ben-Gvir unveiled the proposal about six months ago, calling for a high-security prison encircled by crocodile-filled waterways to deter escape attempts by Palestinian detainees.
