A report in the Turkish Anadolu Press Agency indicates that the Israelis, who are building a maximum-security prison, Ketziot, in the Negev desert to house what they deem to be the more dangerous Hamas militants, are constructing a moat around the prison which will be filled with Nile crocodiles. What seems to be a scene from some of the more macabre Hollywood horror or escape films, will soon be made a reality in a nation that calls itself civilized. (It should be noted, however, that Florida’s 2025 “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center, also known as the South Florida Detention Facility, operated by the Trump Administration last summer in the Everglades, was the precedent for Ketziot. South Florida Detention Facility was shut down last year by order of a judge. Alligator Alcatraz also sparked a merchandise sideline, with T-shirts and caps.)
Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman had decided last week to classify the Nile crocodile as a “domesticated wild animal,” despite objections from professional officials in her ministry. Since October 2023, Israel has arrested hundreds of Palestinians belonging to the Nukhba unit of Hamas’ military wing, whom they plan to bring before special courts. They will be subject to drastic punishment, depriving them of blankets and food, and forcing them to sleep on iron beds. The crocs are an additional item in this ugly mix.
