Ben-Gvir has passed his latest crackpot idea of employing crocodiles as part of the Israel Prison Service's roster through all the required legal stages. In regimes in which characters such as Ben-Gvir are cabinet members, anything could be made completely legalGideon Levy10:48 PM • July 18 2026 IDTIsrael National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is taking Israel to the next stage in its development: barbarism as a legal and explicit state policy. In tandem, the minister of national security is bringing sadism out of the closet as well. Sadism is no longer just for deviants; it is the new political correctness. After years in which barbarity and sadism toward Palestinians were hidden as something shameful and repressed – and mainly as the exception to the rule – Ben-Gvir is moving them to center stage to great applause from some of the crowd and silence from the rest.Loading...Click the alert icon to follow topics:Itamar Ben-GvirZionismPalestiniansIsraeli politicsEnvironment & NatureHuman rightsIsrael Prison ServiceDeath Penalty CommentsLoading...In the NewsIn the News: Live UpdatesSettler ViolenceU.S.-IranIsraeli SurveillanceDemocratsNetanyahuIsrael ElectionsHaQuizHaaretz PodcastIsraelis Protest Nationwide Against Netanyahu Gov't, Haredi Draft Evasion LawsWhy Some View the World Cup Final as a Proxy for the Israel-Palestine Conflict2 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iran Strikes; Khamenei: Trump's Signature 'Worthless'Wildfire Damages at Least 15 Homes at West Bank Israeli Settler OutpostNYC's Mamdani Says He Still Eyes Arrest of Netanyahu During September VisitRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIInside the Mossad Plot to Install Ahmadinejad as Iran's LeaderNetanyahu's Biggest Challenger: Who Is Gadi Eisenkot and What Does He Stand For?The Most Optimistic Israeli in Jerusalem Is Leaving the Country103 House Democrats Vote to Cut U.S. Aid to Israel in Landmark Symbolic VoteI Joined Rep. Ro Khanna on His West Bank Visit. Here's What I SawThe Week the Democrats Defined the Israel-Palestine Debate for 2028