- July 16, 2026
- 10:33 pm
- Israel
The idea of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to place crocodiles around the perimeter of a prison for terrorists has ceased to be just a political statement. Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman changed the legal status of crocodiles, paving the way for the Israel Prison Service to practically test the project – July 16, 2026.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, representing the Otzma Yehudit party, and Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman from Likud advanced a plan to use crocodiles to guard a prison facility where Hamas’s Nukhba unit terrorists might be held.
According to Hadashot 13, Silman classified the Nile crocodile as a “cultivated wild animal” — חיית בר מטופחת. This decision should allow the security structure to keep such animals at a controlled facility and effectively opens the possibility of placing them in the Ketziot prison complex in the Negev.
Journalists called the event a “crocodile takeover”, as the Israel Nature and Parks Authority opposed the initial project. After this, Silman used her ministry’s powers and changed the legal status of the animals.
However, the crocodiles have not yet been delivered to Ketziot, the moat around the prison has not been dug, and the final security project has not been approved.
How Ben-Gvir’s idea turned into a state project
The proposal first became known on December 20, 2025.
Ben-Gvir presented it during an operational meeting with the Commissioner of the Israel Prison Service — IPS — Lieutenant General Kobi Yaakobi. The minister proposed building a special facility for terrorists, surrounded by an area with crocodiles, which were to become an additional obstacle to escape.
Some high-ranking IPS officers met the proposal with ridicule. However, the prison service leadership was instructed to check its technical, financial, and legal feasibility. Initially, the construction of a new facility near Hamat Gader — a tourist complex south of the Kinneret, where Israel’s largest crocodile farm has been operating for over 40 years — was considered.
January 1, 2026 a group of IPS officers arrived at Hamat Gader.
Prison Service employees studied the behavior of crocodiles, feeding methods, maintenance rules, necessary pool depth and width, fence height, risks to personnel, and possible project costs.
This was not a sightseeing visit. IPS representatives recorded technical requirements and gathered information to prepare a professional opinion.
According to a later publication by Hadashot 13, the concept changed: instead of building a separate facility near Hamat Gader, the transportation of crocodiles to the existing Ketziot complex, which is officially called Lavi Prison today, is now being considered.
Ketziot is located in the northwestern part of the Negev, near the border with Egypt. The complex occupies about 400,000 square meters and is mainly used for holding prisoners associated with terrorist activities. After the war began, detained militants, including members of the Nukhba special unit, were also brought there.
Why Ben-Gvir needed crocodiles
Supporters of the project cite two main arguments.
The first is to prevent escapes.
Ben-Gvir believes that the presence of dangerous predators near the outer perimeter of the prison will be not only a physical but also a psychological barrier. According to him, the very possibility of ending up in a zone with crocodiles should reduce the motivation of prisoners to plan an escape.
The second argument is the supposed savings.
The Ministry of National Security believes that creating a natural barrier could reduce costs for security, personnel, and technical surveillance means. Project representatives claimed that purchasing animals would be cheaper than building and maintaining additional protective structures for many years.
However, an open economic calculation comparing the cost of the crocodile perimeter with conventional security systems has not yet been published.
It was planned to purchase about 60 crocodiles.
A young animal was estimated at approximately 8,000 dollars, an adult up to 20,000 dollars. The ministry considered purchasing young but already potentially dangerous crocodiles, which would continue to grow directly on the complex’s territory.
If 60 young crocodiles are purchased at the minimum stated price, the purchase of animals alone could cost about 480,000 dollars. This amount does not include the construction of pools, fences, water purification systems, pumps, electricity, feeding, veterinary care, and specialist salaries.
NANews — Israel News notes: statements about savings are still based on preliminary estimates by project supporters, not on a published state budget.
A crocodile is not an alarm system
Hamat Gader’s CEO Yossi Musengad warned that keeping crocodiles is significantly more complicated than it might seem.
According to him, a crocodile is not an animal that can simply be released into a water-filled moat. It requires pools of a certain width, depth, and water level, special fences, regular feeding, and temperature control.
The activity of the animals depends on the time of year. In winter, crocodiles become less mobile, which may reduce their effectiveness as a supposed deterrent.
Keeping 60 animals, according to Hamat Gader’s management, will require several thousand shekels a week just for current expenses. Additionally, a professional caretaker, security, pumps, water treatment, and constant power supply will be needed.
“Keeping a crocodile in captivity is not easy. It’s not a poodle,” Musengad explained.
He also emphasized that it is impossible to accurately predict a predator’s reaction to a human. Behavior depends on temperature, season, the animal’s condition, the time of the last feeding, and whether the crocodile perceives a person as an intrusion into its territory.
Additional questions arise, for which there are currently no public answers:
- what will happen in the event of a rocket attack and damage to the fence;
- how to evacuate animals in case of fire;
- who will be responsible for the safety of prison staff;
- how to repair pools and clean water;
- what to do with crocodiles in case of power or pump failure;
- can the animals survive the climatic conditions of the Negev desert;
- how to prevent their escape beyond the prison complex.
What exactly did Idit Silman change
Before Silman’s intervention, crocodiles were considered protected wild animals. Their maintenance, transfer, and transportation required special permits.
The Israeli Wildlife Protection Law provides for a separate category of “cultivated wild animals”. It can include species that are bred in captivity and officially recognized as such by the minister.
In the past, crocodiles and ostriches were already included in this category in Israel. This status allowed them to be bred for economic purposes. Later, during Gilad Erdan’s tenure as Minister of Environmental Protection, crocodiles and ostriches were removed from the list, leaving the category effectively empty.
Now Silman has re-included the Nile crocodile in this legal framework, providing for the possibility of its maintenance by a security organization.
Therefore, the claim that the Knesset passed a special “crocodile law” would be inaccurate. According to published data, it is an administrative decision by the minister within the existing law, not a new law passed through three readings in parliament.
At the same time, changing the animal’s status does not cancel the requirements of the Animal Protection Law. The state is still obliged to ensure conditions that meet the biological and behavioral needs of crocodiles.
Israel’s answer to “Alligator Alcatraz”
Ben-Gvir did not hide that he was inspired by the American project Alligator Alcatraz.
This migration center was opened in Florida in July 2025 on the site of a former airfield in the swampy Everglades area. Supporters of the facility emphasized that the surrounding swamps, alligators, and pythons create a natural barrier to escapes.
But the American model was fundamentally different from the Israeli idea.
In Florida, animals were not specifically purchased and placed in a moat around each wall. The center was simply located in a region where alligators and other dangerous animals naturally inhabit.
The project was accompanied by environmental and human rights lawsuits. Opponents claimed that the facility was built without the necessary environmental review and threatened the sensitive Everglades ecosystem.
Notably, on June 25, 2026, less than a month before Silman’s new decision, Florida authorities announced the closure of “Alligator Alcatraz.” The inmates were transferred to other facilities. Officially, the authorities stated that the temporary facility had fulfilled its purpose, and its continued use became unsafe with the start of hurricane season.
It turns out that Israel continues to study a model that American authorities have already abandoned after a year of legal, environmental, and organizational disputes.
What has been decided, and what still exists only on paper
As of July 16, 2026, several real steps can be discussed.
Ben-Gvir officially instructed the IPS to check the feasibility of the project.
Prison Service officers visited Hamat Gader and studied the conditions for keeping crocodiles.
Preliminary cost estimates for purchasing about 60 animals were obtained.
Idit Silman changed the legal classification of Nile crocodiles, removing one of the obstacles to their transfer to a security structure.
The Ketziot prison complex is now named as a possible project implementation site.
But not yet published:
- the final engineering scheme;
- the approved state budget;
- permission to build pools;
- a contract for the purchase of animals;
- a veterinary plan;
- an environmental assessment;
- an independent safety assessment;
- the start dates of the pilot project;
- a decision on which part of Ketziot should be surrounded by crocodiles.
It is not even clear whether it is about the entire outer perimeter, a separate sector for the most dangerous prisoners, or a small demonstration area.
NANews — Israel News emphasizes: calling the project an already functioning “prison with crocodiles” is premature. However, it is no longer a random phrase by Ben-Gvir. The idea has gone from a proposal that caused laughter among officers to a service check, a visit by IPS specialists, and a change in the legal status of animals.
Now the main question is not whether Israeli security structures will be allowed to keep crocodiles, but whether the state will decide to turn an unusual political initiative into a real, costly, and potentially dangerous element of prison infrastructure.