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ConflictIsraeli minister advances plan to use Nile crocodiles as guards at prison holding Palestinian detainees
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Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has advanced a controversial plan to use Nile crocodiles as guards around detention facilities holding Palestinian prisoners. Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman reclassified Nile crocodiles as 'managed wildlife,' allowing them to be kept outside educational or research settings. A pilot project is proposed at Ketziot Prison in the Negev desert, which holds Palestinian security prisoners and those arrested during the Gaza war. The plan faces strong opposition: legal advisors warn Silman exceeded her authority, and the Nature and Parks Authority argues crocodiles must be protected, not used as security tools, citing past escapes and dangers. The article notes that no such prison currently exists, and a similar US facility in Florida, nicknamed 'Alligator Alcatraz,' was closed after less than a year. Implementation remains uncertain.
Source report
Source: Klaus Blume/dpa
Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has proposed using crocodiles to guard Palestinian prisoners. A cabinet colleague has now taken a necessary step to advance the plan, though the responsible authority has criticized the proposal.
Israeli prisons for Palestinian prisoners could soon be surrounded by crocodiles. A first building block for the controversial plan has been laid. Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman (Likud) has reclassified Nile crocodiles into the category of "managed wildlife."
This reclassification makes it possible to keep the animals in facilities other than exclusively for educational or research purposes, as was previously the case. With this move, Silman paved the way for a request by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to surround detention facilities with the dangerous reptiles, as reported by Israeli media outlets ynetnews.com and the Jerusalem Post on Friday.
Background of the Proposal
Ben-Gvir proposed in December 2025 to house Palestinian security prisoners in detention facilities surrounded by crocodiles. A pilot project involving crocodiles from a wildlife reserve in Hamat Gader, located in the Golan Heights, is planned for Ketziot Prison in the Negev desert. According to reports, Palestinian security prisoners and Palestinians arrested during the Gaza war are among those incarcerated there.
Criticism and Legal Concerns
Whether the project will actually be implemented remains uncertain. According to reports, legal advisors from the ministry warned against Silman's unilateral step, arguing that it exceeded her authority. Representatives of the Nature and Parks Authority have rejected the use of crocodiles in detention facilities, stating that the animals must be protected and not used as a means of security.
According to the authority, such wild animals may only be kept for educational, research, and informational purposes. In the past, crocodile breeding has led to numerous problems, including crocodiles escaping into the wild or becoming dangerous to humans.
Precedent in the United States
Prisons where crocodiles are actively kept as an additional security barrier for inmates do not currently exist. However, in July of last year, the U.S. government under Donald Trump opened a deportation facility for migrants in South Florida, which earned the infamous nickname "Alligator Alcatraz." That facility was closed in May of this year, after less than a year of operation.
KNA/dpa/lfb
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Israel Plans Prison with Crocodiles – Minister Paves Way for 'Alligator Alcatraz'