The Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs has condemned far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir after he posted footage on social media showing him telling jailed Hamas figure Hassan Salama in his cell that he wanted to kill him. Conditions inside Israeli prisons are “organised terrorism”, he added. Ben-Gvir uploaded footage in a lengthy post on X on Sunday showing him inside the cell of Salama, who has been imprisoned by Israel for 30 years.
Salama is serving multiple life sentences for his role in a series of Hamas-orchestrated attacks in 1996, including bus bombings. I want you executed,” he told Salama while surrounded by Israeli security forces. According to Ben-Gvir, the video was taken two weeks ago.
The Palestinian Prisoners Media Office called Ben-Gvir’s actions “a cheap political and electoral stunt” made before Israel’s October 27 elections and a “cowardly act of bullying against a defenceless and handcuffed prisoner”, adding that Israeli authorities were fully responsible for Salama’s life. Palestinian group Hamas said Ben-Gvir’s threat to kill Salama “signals new crimes” against Palestinian detainees, while pledging to continue efforts to secure their release. Ben-Gvir’s video, in which he also repeated his calls for the execution of Palestinian prisoners, follows other recent incidents in which he has directly threatened Palestinian prisoners, underscoring his record of incendiary rhetoric and hardline policies towards Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
In August, Ben-Gvir posted a video of himself entering the prison cells of Palestinian women and boasting about their inadequate conditions. Last year, the minister was seen taunting long-imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti in his jail cell. Israel’s Knesset approved legislation in March allowing the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners in certain cases, a measure strongly backed by Ben-Gvir and his party, Jewish Power.
The law does not permit the death penalty for Jewish Israelis. The legislation drew widespread criticism and protests from countries in the region over its implications for Palestinian prisoners. Ben-Gvir has previously said Jewish Power would demand the defence and justice portfolios as a condition for joining a future government.
On Sunday, Ben-Gvir also called for the “emigration” of Palestinians from Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Ben-Gvir in July unveiled a seven-year plan branded “Disengagement 710” to remove Gaza’s roughly two million residents through what he called “voluntary emigration”. Ben-Gvir added that if re-elected, he would establish a migration ministry to expel Palestinians.
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