{"id":129560,"date":"2026-07-17T20:34:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T15:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=129560"},"modified":"2026-07-17T20:34:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T15:34:33","slug":"israeli-media-says-crocodile-filled-moats-could-surround-prisons-holding-palestinians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/129560\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli media says crocodile-filled moats could surround prisons holding Palestinians"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Web desk(National Times)- Israel has taken a legal step toward implementing a controversial proposal by extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to surround prisons holding Palestinian detainees with crocodile-filled moats, Hebrew media reports said on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Israel\u2019s&nbsp;<em>Channel 7<\/em>&nbsp;said Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman signed an order reclassifying crocodiles as \u201cmanaged wild animals,\u201d allowing government bodies, including the Israel Prison Service, to keep them in their facilities under specified conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move removes a key legal obstacle that had stymied the plan, as crocodiles were previously classified as protected wild animals that could only be kept in licensed zoos, the broadcaster said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Channel 13<\/em>&nbsp;said the legal change followed objections by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority to the proposed project, dubbed the \u201ccrocodile prison\u201d by Hebrew media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ben-Gvir unveiled the proposal about six months ago, calling for a high-security prison encircled by crocodile-filled waterways to deter escape attempts by Palestinian detainees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to&nbsp;<em>Channel 7<\/em>, the Israel Prison Service has already begun examining the project\u2019s feasibility, including visits to zoos to study crocodile handling and care requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The broadcaster said officials believe crocodile-filled moats could reduce guarding costs while strengthening prison security. It added that a young crocodile costs around $8,000, while an adult can cost up to $20,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was no immediate comment from the Israel Prison Service on the reported plan or where it could be implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Around 9,500 Palestinians are currently&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/3\/18\/israel-holding-more-than-half-of-palestinian-child-detainees-without-charge\">held<\/a>&nbsp;in Israeli prisons, including women and children, under conditions that Palestinian and Israeli rights groups say involve starvation, torture, and medical neglect, leading to the deaths of dozens of detainees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Web desk(National Times)- Israel has taken a legal step toward implementing a controversial proposal by extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to surround prisons holding Palestinian detainees with crocodile-filled moats, Hebrew media reports said on Thursday. Israel\u2019s&nbsp;Channel 7&nbsp;said Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman signed an order reclassifying crocodiles as \u201cmanaged wild animals,\u201d allowing government bodies, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Israeli media says crocodile-filled moats could surround prisons holding Palestinians - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/129560\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Israeli media says crocodile-filled moats could surround prisons holding Palestinians - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Web desk(National Times)- Israel has taken a legal step toward implementing a controversial proposal by extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to surround prisons holding Palestinian detainees with crocodile-filled moats, Hebrew media reports said on Thursday. Israel\u2019s&nbsp;Channel 7&nbsp;said Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman signed an order reclassifying crocodiles as \u201cmanaged wild animals,\u201d allowing government bodies, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/129560\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-17T15:34:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-17T15:34:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Untitled-design-9-24.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/129560\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/129560\/\",\"name\":\"Israeli media says crocodile-filled moats could surround prisons holding Palestinians - 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