Ben Gvir boasts of worse Palestinian prison conditions

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir posted a video on Sunday in which he praised worsening conditions for Palestinian prisoners while visiting female inmates.

In the video, a veiled woman with her face blurred said prisoners had “extremely bad” conditions, did not get rights and had particular needs as women. She said they had not bathed for three days and had not changed their underwear, warning of disease risks.

Ben Gvir responded by comparing the treatment with that of hostages held by Hamas and other militants in Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attacks. “I am proud that we have succeeded in reducing the terrorists' prison conditions to the bare minimum,” he said.

According to her husband, the woman in the video is Yasmine Shaaban, who was re-arrested by Israeli forces in May 2025 during a raid on her home near Jenin, months after being released as part of a Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The Palestinian Authority's Commission on Detainees Affairs accused Ben Gvir of “brutality, hatred and racism”. The Gaza prisoners ministry under Hamas said the video showed the “depravity” of Israel's occupation regime.

The video came ahead of Israel's October 27 elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition is struggling in some polls, and Ben Gvir has refused Netanyahu's calls to run jointly with another ultranationalist to improve the right wing's election chances.