Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has sparked widespread international outrage after publishing a provocative video showing himself storming a prison cell and directly threatening jailed Hamas figure Hassan Salameh
Uploaded to social media platform X, the footage captures Ben-Gvir surrounded by security personnel as he confronts the handcuffed inmate, declaring, 'I want to kill you. I want to execute you.'
According to translations reported by Anadolu and Palestinian media. The Times of Israel rendered the second sentence as: 'I want to put you to death.'
Ben-Gvir said the encounter took place roughly two weeks earlier and described it as a moment of 'full circle' after protesting as a teenager against Hamas bus bombings in Jerusalem in 1996.
The political stunt arrives during the final weeks of Israel's heated election campaign, with Ben-Gvir aggressively demanding the defence ministerial portfolio in order to implement capital punishment for Palestinian inmates.
Palestinian officials and human rights organisations have fiercely condemned the broadcast, characterising the incident as organised degradation and a dangerous escalation of prison abuses.
סגירת מעגל ענקית עבורי!
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) September 27, 2026
כנער עמדתי ברחובות והפגנתי אחרי פיגועי התופת הנוראיים בקו 18 בירושלים. עשרות חפים מפשע נרצחו, ומשפחות שלמות נחרבו.
לפני כשבועיים הגעתי לכלא ופגשתי פנים אל פנים את הארכי מחבל חסאן סאלמה - מבכירי חמאס, חברו ושותפו של יחיא סינוואר ימ״ש, שנשלח בידי הצורר… pic.twitter.com/6HvGFKAroJ
Ben-Gvir Says He Made Prisoner's Life 'Hell'
Salameh has been imprisoned for around three decades and is serving multiple life sentences for his role in Hamas-organised attacks in 1996, including deadly bus bombings in Jerusalem.
Ben-Gvir said he had gone from protesting the attacks as a teenager to overseeing Israel's prison system as national security minister.
'As Minister of National Security, I led a policy that turned his life into hell,' Ben-Gvir wrote in the accompanying post.
He added that if he becomes defence minister after Israel's election, he would seek to ensure that prisoners such as Salameh are put to death.
Ben-Gvir has demanded the defence portfolio for himself if his Otzma Yehudit party joins the next government after the 27 October election.
Palestinian Officials Condemn Prison Cell Video
The Palestinian Commission of Detainees' Affairs condemned the footage, with its head Raed Abu al-Hummus accusing Ben-Gvir of taking the treatment of prisoners to new levels of 'degradation and depravity'.
Abu al-Hummus described conditions inside Israeli prisons as 'organised terrorism' and criticised what he called a lack of international action.
The Palestinian Prisoners Media Office separately called the confrontation a 'political and electoral stunt', describing Salameh as defenceless and handcuffed during the encounter. Hamas also condemned Ben-Gvir's remarks, saying they threatened further abuses against Palestinian prisoners.
Death Penalty Law Passed Earlier This Year
Ben-Gvir has long campaigned for capital punishment for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks. Israel's Knesset passed legislation in March making death by hanging the default sentence for certain West Bank Palestinians convicted in military courts of intentionally causing death in a terrorist attack, unless judges find special circumstances justifying life imprisonment.
The measure passed 62-48, with one abstention. The law does not apply retroactively, meaning it does not provide a legal route to execute Salameh for offences and convictions dating from the 1990s. No prisoner has yet been executed under the legislation.
Ben-Gvir has repeatedly filmed himself confronting Palestinian prisoners. In August, he posted footage from a women's prison while praising harsh detention conditions, and last year he confronted imprisoned Fatah figure Marwan Barghouti.
The latest video comes during the final month of Israel's election campaign, as Ben-Gvir pushes for the defence portfolio and argues that prisoners convicted of deadly attacks should face execution.
