Ben-Gvir tells party to play down crocodile prison plan

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has instructed his far-right Otzma Yehudit party to stop highlighting his controversial plan to use crocodiles to help secure Israeli prisons, amid concerns that voters see the proposal as a gimmick that is hurting the party’s election campaign, ynet and its parent newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth have learned. During internal party discussions, Ben-Gvir directed campaign officials to play down the crocodile initiative in media appearances, social media posts and campaign messaging. He argued that continued attention to the plan was damaging the party because the public viewed it as unserious, according to information obtained by ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth. The shift comes after Ben-Gvir repeatedly promoted the proposal in recent months, including in media interviews and official statements to journalists. The initiative, developed with the Israel Prison Service, calls for crocodile-filled moats to be used as an additional security measure around prisons. When excavation work began as part of a pilot program at Ketziot Prison in southern Israel, Ben-Gvir dismissed criticism of the idea. “Anyone who thought it was a gimmick was wrong,” he said at the time. As recently as Aug. 4, Ben-Gvir, who heads Otzma Yehudit, visited Ketziot Prison with Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman. The two toured the site and filmed a video beside moats dug around a wing holding members of Hamas’ elite Nukhba force, which played a leading role in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The video was filmed after a district court halted the use of crocodiles for prison security in response to a petition by animal welfare organization Let the Animals Live. The court, however, allowed excavation and other infrastructure work for the Ketziot pilot project to continue. While Ben-Gvir has sought to lower the profile of the crocodile proposal, his election campaign has increasingly focused on attracting voters from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party. Ben-Gvir has repeatedly warned right-wing voters that Netanyahu could choose to form a government with former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the centrist Yashar! party, rather than form another exclusively right-wing coalition. The message is aimed in part at persuading Likud voters to support Otzma Yehudit instead. During a Facebook livestream earlier this month, Ben-Gvir repeated that warning. “If Bibi decides to go with Eisenkot, it will be a mistake that will live in infamy,” Ben-Gvir said, using Netanyahu’s nickname. “If he prefers the center-left over us, then a government like the one we just had — everything will go backward.” Ben-Gvir also criticized Likud over the government’s stalled effort to overhaul the judiciary. “Unfortunately, those who dealt with it did not succeed,” he said. “If they had done what I did with the police — the changes in the prisons — then we would have seen things differently.” Ben-Gvir’s office said in response that the minister remained focused on changes to the prison system. “Minister Ben-Gvir continues to lead an unprecedented, historic reform of the Israel Prison Service — from toughening conditions for terrorists to upgrading security and protection systems,” his office said. “We will continue to focus on genuine security measures for the safety of Israel’s citizens, not media spin.”