Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has posted a video filmed inside a prison holding Palestinian women, boasting that he is responsible for the harsh conditions they endure.
The video, posted on Ben-Gvir's X account on Sunday, shows him entering the women's detention wing and confronting detainees over complaints about their treatment. In the footage, a female inmate says: “This is the third day we haven't showered. We don't receive medical treatment, and our clothes aren't clean.”
Ben-Gvir replies: “The good prison conditions are over. This is the current situation, and I am directly responsible for everything. I am satisfied with these conditions.”
In his accompanying post, the far-right minister wrote that the prisoners' “cries” about conditions would not sway him, arguing that Israeli hostages held in Gaza also lack proper conditions. “I will continue to pursue a policy of the minimum within the minimum,” he said.
The Gaza-based Commission for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs condemned Ben-Gvir's visit, saying the filming of female detainees amounts to intimidation and humiliation. The commission stated that his entry into the women's wing “was not an inspection” but rather “a political spectacle and incitement against the women prisoners,” aimed at threatening them and breaking their will before cameras.
The body also suggested that Ben-Gvir's remarks reveal that conditions inside Israeli prisons reflect a systematic policy of retaliation rooted in “humiliation, torture, starvation, and deprivation.”
The Palestinian Prisoners Society also denounced the video, telling Al Jazeera that Ben-Gvir's filming and release of the women's images is “a violation of their human dignity.” The group said that hundreds of testimonies from released detainees have documented severe abuse inside Israeli prisons and detention centers.
Since becoming national security minister in late 2022, Ben-Gvir has pushed for stricter conditions for Palestinian prisoners, including reducing food and water rations, limiting family visits, restricting shower times, and removing privileges in detention wings. He has also overseen the transfer of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners between facilities.
Ben-Gvir has previously rejected efforts to improve prisoner conditions. In 2025, he publicly opposed an Israeli court ruling requiring authorities to ensure adequate food for Palestinian inmates, insisting that harsh conditions should remain.
According to the Commission for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs, around 9,400 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including 88 women and more than 350 children.
