Israel’s Ben Gvir boasts of planned execution facility for Palestinian prisoners

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has boasted about an upcoming facility designed to execute Palestinian prisoners. In a video posted to Instagram, Ben Gvir pointed to a construction site and claimed the complex would include "viewing chambers" where victims could watch Palestinians being hanged. He stated that the facility is being built as promised, fulfilling a previous promise made to a former Israeli soldier held captive in Gaza.

The law regulating the execution of these prisoners was approved by Israel's parliament earlier this year, with the Israel Prison Service (IPS) tasked with carrying out the executions. Critics argue the law is discriminatory, as it only applies to Palestinian citizens, not Israeli Jewish citizens. Ben Gvir has also expressed a desire to execute Palestinian prisoners himself and called for their expulsion from Gaza.

Human rights groups have long accused Israel of systematically killing Palestinians, and some have condemned the new law as an additional official killing mechanism.