Israel’s far-right minister Ben Gvir requests budget for 5,000 new detention centers

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has requested additional funding for the construction of 5,000 new detention centers, following a doubling in the number of Palestinian prisoners since the start of the attacks on Gaza on October 7, 2023.

“The prison crisis is one of the most sensitive security issues since the start of the war and remains unresolved,” The Israeli news site Ynet reported.

The report noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chaired a related meeting attended by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Ben Gvir.

The meeting was reportedly tense, with Ben Gvir issuing several warnings about the crisis in the prisons.

He presented a plan to build 5,000 new detention centers and requested a special budget for the project.

According to the Israeli Prison Service, the number of Palestinian prisoners has reached around 10,000 – double the figures before Oct. 7.

A joint statement from the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society indicated that the number of Palestinians detained in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since Oct. 7 has reached 10,700.