The Israeli Police Minister says that imposing the death penalty on Palestinian detainees was the “right solution” to address overcrowding in prisons.
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Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrives at the site of a rockslide that took place in the “Ein Gedi Nature Reserve,” on the western shore of the Dead Sea, on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo)
Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has proposed Thursday the execution of Palestinian detainees as a way to address overcrowding in Israeli occupation prisons.
In a post on X, Ben-Gvir asserted that imposing the death penalty on Palestinian detainees was the “right solution” to what he described as “the incarceration problem.”
His comments followed the Israeli authorities’ approval of his plan to construct approximately 936 additional prison spaces for Palestinian detainees.
“The additional construction will allow the prison service to take in more Palestinians, and will bring a partial solution to the prison crisis,” Ben-Gvir wrote.
שמח שהממשלה אישרה את הההצעה שלי שתאפשר לשב״ס לבנות 936 (בהצפפה 1,600) מקומות כליאה נוספים לאסירים ביטחוניים. תוספת הבנייה תאפשר לשירות בתי הסוהר לקלוט מחבלים נוספים, ותביא פתרון חלקי למצוקת הכליאה הקיימת בשב״ס. אני מברך על כך שרוב רובם של השרים גילו אחריות ומנהיגות בנושא החשוב…
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) April 17, 2024
Israeli occupation authorities had earlier declared a state of emergency in some prisons due to significant overcrowding.
Previously, the Israeli minister had called for the daily execution of the longest-serving Palestinian detainees for each day an Israeli captive remains held by the Palestinian Resistance in the Gaza Strip.
According to a statement issued by the Government Media Office in Gaza, over 5,000 Palestinians have been abducted by Israeli occupation forces during their ongoing invasion of the besieged Strip.
The statement underlined that the Palestinian detainees were undergoing “the worst kinds of torture” in Israeli occupation prisons.
On its part, the Palestinian rights organization Addameer highlighted on the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners’ Day that “Israel” is detaining 9,500 Palestinian political prisoners, including 3,660 administrative detainees, 56 journalists, at least 80 women, more than 200 children, and 17 members of the Legislative Council, excluding those from Gaza.
Read more: Palestinian Prisoners Day: Palestinians violated, denied basic rights
