Ben-Gvir says jailed militants expect perks back under a 'change' government

Israel's National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has claimed that people jailed in Israel for terrorism offences are already planning how to recover the prison conditions his ministry took away from them, and that they expect this to happen as soon as what he called a "change" government is sworn in. He made the claim in a post on his own X account, adding a sarcastic line aimed at voters: whoever wanted change, he wrote, apparently meant this.

The Israeli news outlet News.co.il relayed the statement on its Telegram channel shortly after it appeared, attributing it to Ben-Gvir in his capacity as minister. Neither the post nor the relayed version offered evidence for the assertion that prisoners are making such plans, and neither named any prisoner, prison or political figure.

Who Itamar Ben-Gvir is

Ben-Gvir heads the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, a hard-right faction, and serves as Minister of National Security. That ministry oversees the Israel Police and the Israel Prison Service, the body that runs the country's jails, including the facilities that hold Palestinians convicted of or detained over attacks on Israelis. In Israeli usage these inmates are known as "security prisoners", a category held separately from ordinary criminal inmates.

Since taking office, Ben-Gvir has made tougher treatment of security prisoners a central and frequently publicised part of his record, presenting the removal of privileges as a deterrent and as a matter of justice for victims. His post refers to those changes as conditions "we took from them", framing their possible reversal as a direct consequence of a change in government.

What the "change" label refers to

In Israeli political vocabulary, "the change government" is a phrase associated with the coalition formed by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, which briefly replaced a Benjamin Netanyahu-led government and branded itself as a government of change. That coalition included parties from the right, centre and left, and for the first time an Arab party, Ra'am, as a coalition partner. Ben-Gvir and other figures on the right have since used the term, often in quotation marks as he does here, as shorthand for a government formed by today's opposition parties.

By placing the word in quotation marks and pairing it with the line about voters who wanted change, Ben-Gvir was casting a possible opposition-led government as one that would ease conditions for convicted attackers. The post is a political message; it states his view of what such a government would do, not a described policy of any party.

How prison conditions became a political issue

Conditions for security prisoners have long been a contested subject in Israel. Supporters of stricter rules argue that people convicted of attacks should not enjoy comforts in custody, while human rights organisations and some legal bodies have raised concerns about overcrowding and treatment in Israeli detention facilities. Ben-Gvir has positioned himself firmly on the first side of that argument, and his statement fits a pattern of using the issue to draw a contrast between his camp and his opponents.

The post appeared as a short message without detail on which specific conditions he meant, whether he was referring to measures such as visits, food, recreation or living space, or how any reversal would come about.

What the reports do not say

The reports do not identify any evidence that prisoners are planning anything of the kind, which remains an assertion by Ben-Gvir alone. They do not say whether any government is about to be sworn in, which parties he considers part of a "change" government, or which conditions he believes would be restored. No response from opposition leaders or from the Israel Prison Service has been reported.