Particle.news
Download on the App Store
12 ARTICLES
·
5d ago

Court Freezes Plan to Place Nile Crocodiles at Ketziot Prison

The injunction forces a legal review of animal‑welfare and regulatory claims and requires the state to respond by mid‑August, pausing transfers and construction work.

Dozens of crocodiles are seen in an inactive farm in the Jordan Valley near the Israeli Petzael settlement in the West Bank on January 18, 2021. Hundreds of crocodiles were stranded in a farm after an Israeli businessmen lost his business as Israel passed a law in 2012 defining the crocodile as a protected animal.
Image
Image
JERUSALEM - MAY 20: Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, seen as Israeli Knesset approves dissolution bill in preliminary reading on May 20, 2026 in Jerusalem. Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition and opposition factions have submitted bills to dissolve the Knesset (Israel's Parliament) as the government faces collapse over the issue of ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) military conscription. Netanyahu has failed to gain the majority needed to pass legislation exempting yeshiva students from the compulsory draft, and is under pressure from ultra-Orthodox coalition partners to hold elections earlier than the October 27 deadline, when his four-year-term expires. By calling for the dissolution of the Knesset, Netanyahu maintains some control over the timing of elections, which must be held within 90 days of the bill's passing. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Overview

  • A Jerusalem District Court judge issued a temporary injunction on Sunday halting any transfer or preparation to place Nile crocodiles at Ketziot Prison while a petition is reviewed.
  • The emergency petition was filed by the animal-welfare group Let the Animals Live, which argues the reclassification of crocodiles removed protections and that the project would harm the animals.
  • Environment Minister Idit Silman reclassified the Nile crocodile as a 'tended' or 'cultivated' wild animal in mid-July, a step the National Security Ministry used to advance a pilot that had NIS 21 million budgeted.
  • National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir championed the scheme as a deterrent and confirmed digging of channels inside the prison compound, while Israeli environmental authorities and rights groups warned there is no scientific basis and raised safety and ethical concerns.
  • The court barred transfers until the state answers the petition by mid‑August, opening a wider legal review that could decide whether the reclassification and the wider plan are lawful and whether construction may resume.