Negev, (The Palestine Foundation Pakistan)Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir visited Ketziot Prison in the Negev, appearing boastful as he stripped Palestinian prisoners of their most basic rights. Hamas condemned his threats to execute prisoners, calling them a reflection of the fascist behavior embraced by the Israeli occupation authorities.
A video circulated Thursday on social media shows Ben Gvir standing at a prison cell door, opening a small window to reveal three prisoners sitting hunched on the floor.
In the video, Ben Gvir says, “All the elite members on the ground, as they should be.” He adds, “They get the bare minimum, no jam, no chocolate, no television, no radio. We’ve taken everything away from here.”
Then he declares, “But there’s still one thing left, capital punishment.”
On Tuesday, Ben Gvir renewed his call to pass a bill allowing the execution of Palestinian prisoners accused by Israel of carrying out attacks.
Last September, a parliamentary committee approved the proposal on its first reading in the Knesset. It must pass three readings to become law.
Systematic extermination in prisons
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) warned Thursday that Ben Gvir continues to publicly incite systematic extermination policies inside Israeli prisons by repeatedly calling for the killing and torture of Palestinian detainees.
The PPS explained that these incitements coincide with dangerous legislative moves in the Knesset aimed at legalizing the execution of prisoners and establishing a special court devoid of legal safeguards to try detainees from Gaza.
“These legal maneuvers, which have already passed preliminary stages, represent a dangerous shift toward legitimizing crimes against prisoners and turning killing into a legally backed practice,” the group stated.
They also highlighted harrowing testimonies from recently released prisoners, describing unprecedented levels of brutality and abuse during arrest and detention, especially since the start of the genocide campaign, which calls for an urgent, independent international investigation based on the evidence available.
According to the group, extermination policies continue inside Israeli prisons, with far-right Israeli parties using prisoners’ cases as political tools. Right-wing leaders often compete in election cycles to appear more brutal toward Palestinian detainees.
The group emphasized that this is not a temporary deviation but a deeply rooted policy within the Israeli occupation system.
They reaffirmed that what is happening inside Israeli prisons is part of the larger campaign of genocide, and that the reported martyrdom of prisoners reflects only a fraction of the broader crimes, including physical and psychological torture, starvation, medical neglect, humiliation, and even sexual violence, including rape.
More than 9,100 Palestinian prisoners remain detained, in addition to hundreds held in military detention camps.
Fascist behavior
The Hamas Movement condemned Ben Gvir’s filmed scenes of systematic torture and threats of execution, calling them a “manifestation of the sadistic and fascist behavior practiced by the terrorist occupation regime against our heroic prisoners and the Palestinian people.”
The Movement said in a statement, “The whole world witnessed the scale of the systematic criminality practiced by these murderous leaders, whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents, against Palestinian prisoners, both living and deceased. This is evident in the tortured and mutilated bodies of martyrs returned to Gaza, often unrecognizable due to the horrific violations inflicted upon them.”
Hamas called on the international community to expose Israeli crimes and hold its leaders accountable before international courts.
They urged the UN and human rights organizations to take immediate action to stop violations against prisoners, demand their release, prevent war criminals from escaping justice, and ensure Israeli leaders face trial for their crimes against humanity.
