An Israeli court has halted plans to relocate crocodiles into a moat outside a prison holding Palestinian detainees, but the decision was based on animal welfare concerns rather than human rights.
Animal rights campaigners condemn the plan
Animal rights campaigners described the proposal to move Nile crocodiles into a moat outside Ketziot Prison in the Negev desert as 'vicious and cruel'. The prison holds more than 75% of Palestinian detainees arrested by the IDF and has been accused of torture. The exact number of prisoners is not known.
The plan was championed by far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who previously had a birthday cake with a noose on it to celebrate the death penalty for all Palestinians convicted of terrorism. The crocodiles proposed for relocation were from the Nile and are classified as a 'protected' reptile.
Court ruling and reaction
A judge from the Jerusalem District Court stopped the transfer of the animals over fears of 'harm' to them. In response, Ben Gvir accused animal rights workers of siding with 'terrorists'.
'We know that the terrorists are worried about the arrival of the crocodiles, but today the court came to their aid,' he said. The Israeli state has until August 16 to submit a response to the ruling.
Allegations of mistreatment at Ketziot
The Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (BTSELEM) has previously revealed torture methods used in prisons across the country to torment Palestinians.
Ashraf al-Muhtaseb, 53, recalled his time inside Ketziot prison. 'The scariest part of that period was at night. Unit members would suddenly come into the cell, explicitly threaten to kill us and beat us badly. They also played loud music at night. We still had no blankets or mattresses,' he said.
Sami Khalili, 41, spent 22 years in multiple prisons and said that in Ketziot prison, he and other prisoners were beaten routinely. 'We were taken to a room which had a lot of clothes, shoes, rings and watches scattered in it. We were stripped naked and even had to take off our underwear. We were searched with a hand-held metal detector,' he said. 'They forced us to spread our legs and then sit half crouching. Then they started hitting us on our private parts with the detector. They rained blows down on us. Then they ordered us to salute an Israeli flag that was hanging on the wall.'
