Since Itamar Ben-Gvir assumed the role of Israel’s Minister of National Security in late 2022, the country’s prison system has entered a phase of systematic escalation against Palestinian detainees. This began with the curtailment of basic living conditions, turning fundamental rights into tools of punishment and humiliation.

But following the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7, 2023, the prison system underwent a total transformation. Prisons became arenas of retaliation, marked by intensified violations and entrenched practices of starvation, medical neglect, and torture all under a policy of collective punishment.

Hebrew-language media outlets suggest that Ben-Gvir treats the prison file as a political asset, using harsh rhetoric and punitive measures to bolster his popularity among the Israeli far right. So, what exactly has changed under his tenure?

Key Developments Under Ben-Gvir

1. Arrests and Deaths

• The estimated number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli custody exceeds 10,000, though no official figure exists due to Israel’s refusal to release data.

• Between October 2023 and November 2025, Israeli forces arrested approximately 21,000 Palestinians across the West Bank and Jerusalem (these include temporary detentions).

• As of November 2025, there were 3,368 administrative detainees (held without trial) and 1,205 labeled by Israel as “unlawful combatants.”

• These numbers exclude thousands detained from Gaza and held in military camps, with no information released about their fate.

  

• 110 Palestinian prisoners have died in custody between January 2023 and June 2025 an average of nearly one death per week, the highest in decades.

• Deaths were distributed over nearly three years: 32 in 2023, 47 in 2024, and 31 in the first half of 2025.

• Most of the deceased were transferred to hospitals in critical condition, with Israeli authorities providing no official cause of death.

• The NGO Physicians for Human Rights – Israel stated that the majority died due to torture, head injuries, internal bleeding, or severe malnutrition.

2. Expansion of Administrative Detention

• Alongside the spike in arrests, Israel significantly expanded its use of administrative detention—holding thousands without trial under renewable secret orders.

• Human rights groups estimate that nearly half of the over 10,000 security detainees by the end of 2025 were administrative detainees.

• These individuals are denied access to the charges against them, with their detention orders renewed every six months.

• Reports indicate that hundreds of children and minors have been subjected to administrative detention and interrogated without legal representation.

3. Overcrowding and Conditions of Confinement

• In December 2023, Knesset Internal Security Committee Chair Zvika Fogel warned that the prison system was “on the verge of losing control” due to overcrowding.

• Israel’s official prison capacity stands at 14,500 beds, yet over 21,000 individuals were held by June 2025.

• Data shows that 84% of security prisoners are crammed into cells offering less than three square meters per person.

• More than 3,000 detainees sleep on mattresses on the floor due to a shortage of beds.

• In response, the Knesset passed legislation allowing a “state of emergency in prisons,” temporarily lifting legal restrictions to create more space.

4. Denial of Basic Needs and Food

• Human rights organizations and the Israeli State Comptroller’s prison oversight report (December 2025) described prison conditions as follows:

  • Security prisoners are served meager portions, including undercooked rice and rotten vegetables, leading to severe weight loss and widespread malnutrition.

    

  • Drinking water is scarce due to rationing; prisoners reported faucets being turned on for only a few hours per day.

  • With the arrival of winter, inmates were denied blankets and heating units, and barred from receiving winter clothing, worsening the cold.

  • Most prisoners released in exchange deals suffered from extreme weight loss due to deliberate starvation, with many requiring immediate hospitalization.

  • Inmates were often given only one bottle of water per cell per day, and access to water in restrooms was virtually nonexistent.

5. Abuse and Daily Assaults

• The State Comptroller’s report detailed routine surprise inspections accompanied by beatings, insults, and forced standing for hours without justification.

• Detainees were also beaten during transfers between prison wings or en route to court, using batons and pepper spray.

• Testimonies from released prisoners confirmed that daily beatings became standard practice after Ben-Gvir declared prisons should be “a nightmare for terrorists.”

• Human rights reports confirm systematic abuse: broken ribs and jawbones, sexual assaults, and sleep deprivation.

• Some prisoners are held underground in the secret Rakevet facility beneath Ramla Prison, denied food and medical care, and subjected to beatings.

• Abuse continues even upon release, with prisoners shackled, blindfolded, beaten, and insulted while being transported.

6. Disease and Slow Death

• Poor hygiene, limited water access, and unsanitary conditions have led to outbreaks of skin diseases, heart conditions, severe dehydration, and diarrhea.

• Malnutrition has decimated the immune systems of many prisoners, some of whom died from treatable illnesses due to a lack of medical care.

• According to the State Comptroller’s report, scabies became endemic in several sections, causing persistent itching and open wounds.

• Medical professionals warn that these conditions constitute a policy of slow death, as prisoners are left vulnerable to chronic diseases without treatment.

• Medication is heavily restricted, and medical visits are rare, further exacerbating the suffering.

7. Bans on Visits and Communication

• Since October 16, 2023, Israeli prison authorities have barred security prisoners from using public telephones and suspended family and Red Cross visits.

• Prisoners are allowed only one hour outdoors daily, and their personal belongings—including books and electronic devices have been confiscated.

• This policy has cut prisoners off from their families, compounding psychological pressure in an apparent effort to break their spirits.

• Thousands labeled as “unlawful combatants” and held without trial are also denied access to lawyers or any form of outside contact.

8. Push for the Death Penalty

• Since taking office, Ben-Gvir has actively promoted legislation mandating the death penalty for those convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis.

• A draft bill passed its first Knesset reading in November 2025, though its implementation remains controversial due to opposition from judges and legal experts.

• Following the vote, Ben-Gvir declared: “This is how we fight terrorism… when this law passes, terrorists won’t leave prison except for the grave.”

• During a Knesset session on December 8, 2025, Ben-Gvir and his party members wore noose-shaped pins in support of the bill.

• He also stated that hanging would not be the only method of execution, suggesting the use of the electric chair and lethal injection as well.