Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has installed large photographs showing the destruction caused by Israeli military operations in Gaza within Israeli prisons, in what appears to be an attempt to intimidate Palestinian detainees.
A video shared by Ben-Gvir on his Telegram channel on Wednesday, August 20, shows him pointing to the images and stating that prisoners are forced to view them on their way to daily courtyard time. Ben-Gvir claims one detainee even recognised his own home among the rubble.
“This is how it’s supposed to look,” he says in the video, which is captioned, “The Israel Prison Service placed photos of destroyed Gaza in the terrorists’ wings — so they understand that you don’t mess with the people of Israel!”
Watch the video here
The footage comes shortly after Ben-Gvir visited the cell of prominent Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti, 66, who is serving multiple life sentences. During the visit, Ben-Gvir appeared to taunt Barghouti, stating,
“You won’t win. Whoever messes with the Nation of Israel, whoever murders our children and women — we will wipe them out. You should know this, throughout history.”
Barghouti attempted to respond, but Ben-Gvir interrupted, repeating,“No, no, you must know this, throughout all of history.” The video ends abruptly.
According to the Palestinian Prisoner Society, over 10,800 Palestinians were held in Israeli prisons as of early August, including 49 women, 450 children, and 2,378 individuals classified as “unlawful combatants.”
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli military operations have killed more than 62,100 Palestinians in Gaza. The prolonged conflict has devastated the enclave, which is now facing a severe humanitarian crisis, including widespread food shortages.
