Prison officers tour crocodile farm as Ben Gvir said pushing for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

Delegation headed by Israel Prison Service deputy chief wanted to learn about animals’ upkeep; ‘Looks like they’re doing serious work,’ Hamat Gader CEO says

Israel Prison Service officers toured the Hamat Gader crocodile farm in northern Israel on Thursday as they followed up on far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s reported suggestion to jail Palestinian security inmates in a prison inspired by the US “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Hamat Gader CEO Yosi Mousanejad told Hebrew media that the delegation was headed by IPS deputy chief Hatem Assam and included several senior officials.

The goal of the visit was “to see, study and hear” about the upkeep of crocodiles in captivity, Mousanejad told the Kan public broadcaster on Friday. “For example, they didn’t know that a crocodile is practically inactive in the winter.”

The delegation did not bring up the possibility that Hamat Gader would supply crocodiles that would surround Ben Gvir’s proposed prison, Mousanejad said.

“What I gathered from them is that right now they’re doing the staff work on the matter, and will submit their conclusion to the minister,” said Mousanejad. “It looks like they’re doing serious work.”

He stressed that Hamat Gader’s expertise is purely zoological and refused to speculate what the crocodiles’ specific role would be in the proposed prison.

“I understand that it’s some kind of security element,” he said, adding that the delegation did not specify what the crocodiles’ role would be. “I’m not putting up crocodiles for security. Our crocodiles don’t have a security guard hat. We’re a tourist farm.”

In an unsourced report on Saturday, Channel 13 said IPS was studying the possibility of a crocodile-surrounded security prison after Ben Gvir brought up the idea in a consultation with IPS chief Kobi Yaakobi. The report said Hamat Gader was one of the sites that had been proposed for the prison.

The proposal appeared to draw inspiration from the South Florida Detention Facility — colloquially known as Alligator Alcatraz — which the White House opened in an alligator-infested area of the Florida Everglades in July to jail migrants.

The facility has faced complaints about poor conditions and lawsuits from environmental and Indigenous groups.