Israel's Central Elections Committee on 1/10 ordered National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to remove a video and pay a fine of 20,000 shekels (approximately 6,500 USD), following a complaint about a video he posted on X last month.

In the video, Ben Gvir confronts Hassan Salameh, a Palestinian prisoner serving multiple life sentences for deadly attacks in Israel in 1996. Salameh, gaunt and bearded, stood silently as Ben Gvir declared, "I want to kill you. I want to execute you."

Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir (white hat) confronts Palestinian prisoner Hassan Salameh in a video posted in september 2023. Photo: X/Itamar Ben Gvir

Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir (white hat) confronts Palestinian prisoner Hassan Salameh in a video posted in september 2023. Photo: X/Itamar Ben Gvir

Ben Gvir captioned the video, "As national security minister, I have led the policy of making his life hell. And with God's help, when I become defense minister, I will act to have people like him executed."

The video was later removed. Ben Gvir, who hopes to become defense minister in the next government, frequently appears in videos confronting prisoners in Israeli jails.

Two human rights organizations in Israel, including the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), filed a complaint against the minister regarding the video. The Central Elections Committee fined Ben Gvir not for the content of the video itself, but because he violated election regulations by using these images to campaign for the upcoming election on 27/10.

The committee stated that the video, created with state funds, had become "campaign propaganda" for Ben Gvir personally.

PCATI welcomed the committee's decision. Merav Ben-Zeev, PCATI's legal director, stated, "We hope such decisions will prevent Minister Ben Gvir from continuing to use prisons as if they were his private property, while humiliating prisoners for election propaganda."

Ben Gvir in Jerusalem in september 2023. Photo: Reuters

Ben Gvir in Jerusalem in september 2023. Photo: Reuters

Ben Gvir is known for his controversial statements and often posts videos featuring prisoners. In august 2025, he posted a video showing him confronting Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian prisoner held by Israel, in his cell.

In october of the same year, he posted footage of himself standing over a row of Palestinian prisoners lying face down, hands tied, and called for the "death penalty."

Israel later passed a death penalty law specifically for Palestinians, a move Ben Gvir celebrated by raising a champagne glass.

By Huyen Le (According to AFP)