Palestinians denounce Israeli minister Ben-Gvir’s threats against prisoner

Footage of national security minister taunting Hassan Salama in his cell draws sharp condemnation from Palestinians.

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.

“The footage published by Ben-Gvir shows that degradation and depravity have reached their highest levels,” Raed Abu al-Hummus, the head of the Palestinian Authority agency, said in a statement on Monday.

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 ۳۰ years.

Salama is serving multiple life sentences for his role in a series of Hamas-orchestrated attacks in ۱۹۹۶, including bus bombings.

“I want to kill you. …. 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 ۲۷ 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.

‘Emigration’ from Palestinian territory

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 ۷۱۰” 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.

In July, Israeli cabinet members and parliamentarians, including Ben-Gvir, joined a march towards Gaza to call for the rebuilding of Jewish settlements in the besieged Palestinian territory.

The Israeli minister has also pushed plans for annexing much of the occupied Palestinian territory despite condemnation from European and Arab leaders.

This year, Ben-Gvir approved the issuance of gun licences to Israelis in ۱۸ additional settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, which are illegal under international law.