Israel minister deletes AI video celebrating hunger of Palestinian prisoners amid backlash

Israel's national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has deleted an AI-generated video that appeared to celebrate hunger among Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The clip was posted on his social media accounts and removed hours later after drawing strong criticism. It showed a line of Palestinian prisoners entering a prison on a conveyor belt and emerging thinner, with the slogan: "We promised and we delivered." The video was linked to Ben-Gvir's campaign for the Knesset ahead of Israel's general election in October, according to the supporting material.

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Ben-Gvir is one of the most hardline figures in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and his ministry is responsible for running the country's prisons, including facilities holding Palestinian detainees. The row comes after he had already used prison conditions as a political theme, including a video posted on Sunday showing him visiting a prison for Palestinian women. In that earlier clip, one detainee complained that the women had gone three days without showering, were not receiving medical treatment and had unclean clothes.

The new AI video prompted comparisons with Nazi concentration and extermination camps, reflecting the sensitivity of imagery involving prisoners, deprivation and mass detention. Ben-Gvir has also been associated with a push to harden policy further, including support for a bill to allow the death penalty for Palestinians by hanging, which was approved in March. The incident matters because it sits at the intersection of prison administration, election campaigning and the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ben-Gvir's ministry oversees prisons where Palestinian detainees are held under a system that has long been criticised by rights groups and international observers. The supporting material says that since 1967 Palestinians in the West Bank have been subject to Israeli military law, with many cases handled under different legal standards from those applied to Israelis in the same area. That broader context has made prison policy a recurring flashpoint in Israeli politics.

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Ben-Gvir has openly backed settlements in Palestinian territories and has made tougher treatment of prisoners part of his political message. The video therefore appears to have been designed not only as a provocation, but also as a campaign signal to his supporters ahead of the vote. What remains unclear is whether the deletion will limit the political fallout or whether it will intensify scrutiny of Ben-Gvir's role in prison policy.

It is also not clear whether any formal response will follow from the government or election authorities. For now, the episode adds to pressure on a minister already associated with some of the most hardline positions in Netanyahu's coalition.

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