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Israel’s Environmental Protection Minister, Idit Silman, has officially reclassified crocodiles from wild animals to “captive-bred wildlife,” allowing the reptiles to be used for security purposes, including deterring prison escapes.
The move has paved the way for deploying crocodiles around detention facilities, drawing attention both domestically and internationally.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who reportedly proposed the idea last December, welcomed the decision. Ben Gvir previously suggested using crocodiles around a prison for Palestinian detainees, drawing comparisons to Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration facility.
“Are you thinking of attempting to escape? Think again,” he wrote on Facebook, posting an AI-generated image of himself with a crocodile on a leash. The caption added: “Ministers Ben Gvir and Silman are cooperating and encircling prisons with crocodiles!”
Ben Gvir, who has a history of controversial rhetoric, including a 2007 conviction for incitement to racism and support for a terrorist organisation, has long advocated for stricter measures against Palestinian prisoners. He has called for tougher detention conditions and threatened activists attempting to challenge Israel’s blockade on Gaza.
The proposal, initially met with ridicule by some Israel Prison Service officers, faced opposition from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. However, the recent regulation transfers oversight of crocodiles to security bodies such as the Israel Prison Service.
The law stipulates that Nile crocodiles may be bred if “held by a security body under conditions determined by the Director (of the Nature and Parks Authority) to prevent their release into the wild, and subject to the Minister of Environmental Protection determining that their possession is required for security purposes.”
Israeli media report that Ben Gvir intends to deploy crocodiles around Ketziot prison in southern Israel, which houses many Palestinians detained after the October 7, 2023 attacks, marking a controversial and unprecedented step in prison security.
