Tel Aviv, MINA – A heated argument broke out on Wednesday between Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich concerning the shortage of prison spaces, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
According to the report, the confrontation escalated into a verbal fight, with Ben-Gvir demanding a special budget for his project.
“Ben Gvir presented a plan to build 5,000 new prison places and demanded a special budget for the project and additional standards,” the report said, as quoted by Palestine Chronicle.
Smotrich, however, responded angrily, insisting that Ben-Gvir should first utilize the funds already allocated to his ministry before requesting additional budgetary support.
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The exchange reportedly angered Ben-Gvir, prompting him to retort, “Are you serious? We’ve built 3,000 detention spaces—more than the Prison Service has achieved in years. Do you expect us to carry prisoners to our homes?”
“You have to take advantage of unused money,” Smotrich reportedly insisted.
Sources cited by the newspaper indicated that Netanyahu intervened by ordering an immediate solution to construct 470 new detention spaces. However, the issue of budget allocation remains unresolved.
Ben-Gvir has often said that the death penalty for Palestinian detainees would be a “much simpler solution” to overcrowding in Israeli prisons.
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Last July, the Shin Bet accused the Israeli government and Ben-Gvir of ignoring months of warnings that huge amounts of additional detainee space were needed to absorb thousands of new detainees due to the ongoing military offensive in Gaza, the Anadolu news agency reported.
“Since I assumed the position of Minister of National Security, one of the highest goals I have set for myself is to worsen the conditions of the terrorists in the prisons, and to reduce their rights to the minimum required by law,” Ben-Gvir said in a lengthy statement on X on July 2. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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