Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has sparked a major international scandal after posting a video on social media of a newly constructed gallows in a maximum-security prison.
The video shows the execution facility, intended for Palestinian prisoners convicted of terrorism by military courts. Ben-Gvir proudly announced that he was fulfilling his campaign promises to worsen conditions for terrorists and introduce the death penalty. In the video, he added that the facility would also include “observation booths” for the families of the victims, similar to the practice in the United States.
Although initial rumors on social media mistakenly attributed the video to the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu himself is not the author of the footage, but he has been heavily criticized for his complete silence on the case. The authoritative Israeli publication “Jerusalem Post“ took a sharp stance, stating that “reasonable people do not gloat over executions“ and that Ben-Gvir's actions put a powerful weapon in the hands of Israel's enemies. The death penalty in Israel was passed in the Knesset earlier this year, but the law is only applied within military courts, which human rights groups say creates a two-tiered judicial system and violates human rights.
The minister's actions were officially condemned by a number of European countries, including Germany and France, as well as by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called his remarks “inhumane and dangerous”.