Itamar Ben-Gvir has put the construction of Israel's new gallows on public display, boasting that a facility designed to hang Palestinians convicted of terrorism is now taking shape, just days after he called for 30 to 40 people in Gaza to be killed every night.
The far-right National Security Minister posted footage from the construction site on 18 August, pointing towards the foundations and declaring that 'terrorists will be executed' there.
The exact location has not been disclosed, although the facility is reportedly being built inside a prison in central Israel.
The timing is striking. Ben-Gvir is not presenting the project as a routine prison development. He is showcasing it as proof that he has delivered on promises to his political supporters, with Israel's election scheduled for 27 October.
In the video, Ben-Gvir boasts that he promised to worsen prison conditions, pass the death penalty law, and establish a hanging facility, then points towards the construction behind him.
'We are making history,' he said, according to Israeli reporting. He also declared that terrorists 'deserve only one thing: death by hanging'.
The facility is reportedly being designed with a dedicated death-row wing, with the gallows positioned at its centre. Viewing booths are also planned so that surviving victims and their relatives can watch the executions. Ben-Gvir said such arrangements exist in other countries, including the United States.
That detail gives the project an especially disturbing visual edge. This is not merely legislation sitting on paper, but a physical site being built for a punishment that Israel has used only exceptionally in its history.
The gallows announcement comes after Ben-Gvir made another explosive intervention over Gaza.
In an interview with former Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski, he argued that 'Israeli forces should kill 30 to 40 people in Gaza every night'. He said the killings should go beyond people who posed an immediate threat and added that some people there were 'not even people'.
Ben-Gvir was also critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for reducing Israeli strikes during the current ceasefire. He called instead for renewed targeted killings.
There is an important distinction, however. Ben-Gvir does not command the Israeli military and cannot personally order such strikes. He is a member of the security cabinet and controls Israel's police and prison services, giving him political influence over security policy but not operational control of the IDF.
The new Israeli death penalty law is at the heart of the controversy. Passed by the Knesset in March by 62 votes to 48, the legislation allows the death penalty in certain terrorism cases handled by military courts.
Critics argue that its structure disproportionately exposes Palestinians to execution, while Jewish Israelis accused of comparable extremist violence remain under a different legal system. That distinction is crucial.
The controversy is not simply about whether Israel has brought back capital punishment. It is about who the new law is designed to punish and which legal system applies to them.