The project came after Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman decided last week to classify the Nile crocodile as a “domesticated wild animal,” despite objections from professional officials in her ministry.

The office of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Silman’s decision “paved the way for the project,” adding that the “pilot phase of the crocodile prison has officially begun” in one wing of Ketziot prison.

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Ben-Gvir previously published videos from the special wing at Ketziot to show harsh detention conditions, including preventing detainees from leaving the wing, depriving them of blankets and food, and forcing them to sleep on iron sheets.