Sanctioned Israeli minister deletes AI video mocking Palestinian prisoners

Sanctioned Israeli minister deletes AI video mocking Palestinian prisoners In short: Israel's far-right national security minister has deleted two videos which were criticised for promoting the poor treatment of Palestinian prisoners. One of the videos was AI-generated and depicted seemingly overweight Palestinian prisoners who later come out of prison, gaunt and with tears in their eyes. US Democratic congressman, Arizona's Ruben Gallego, is among critics of the videos. Israel's far-right national security minister has quietly deleted two videos from his social media pages, which critics said promote the starvation and poor treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Warning: The following story contains video and images which some readers may find distressing. One video, generated by AI, was posted by Itamar Ben-Gvir on Sunday, fuelling furore on social media with accusations the video likened Israeli prisons to concentration camps. Seemingly overweight Palestinian prisoners were depicted smiling and laughing in an Israeli courtroom, with thought bubbles above their heads suggesting they were thinking of education, food, fairy floss and shisha or hookah. Loading...It ties in with Mr Ben-Gvir's often repeated criticism that prisoners have too many comforts while behind bars. The video then shows Mr Ben-Gvir looking on as the logo of his party Otzma Yehudit, or Jewish Power, is beamed into the air — reminiscent of the superhero Batman, who responds to calls for help as his Batman insignia is projected into the night sky. In the next scene prisoners are seen on a conveyor belt, still smiling, until Mr Ben-Gvir pops their thought bubbles and presses a red button, sending them inside prison walls. The prisoners are then depicted coming out of the prison on the same conveyor belt, gaunt and with tears in their eyes, along with the slogan "we promised to stop the summer camps, and we did." One US Democratic congressman, Arizona's Ruben Gallego, responded to the video by saying "this piece of shit should never be allowed in the US". Mr Gallego is among American politicians pushing for sanctions against Israel for settlement expansion. Video comes after accusing Palestinian women in prison of 'whining' Mr Ben-Gvir has made the mocking of Palestinian prisoners part of his brand, ever since being elevated to Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet as part of the complicated coalition arrangement entered into after the 2022 election. As national security minister, he has responsibility for the nation's police and prison service. Days before the AI video was released, Mr Ben-Gvir was criticised for another video which showed him speaking to female Palestinians inside the Damon prison in northern Israel. The prisoners complained about the conditions in the jail, including concerns around hygiene and a lack of access to showers and medical care. The minister likened the situation to what Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza had to deal with, and labelled the comments from the Palestinian women as "whining". That video also appears to have been deleted. Earlier this week, Israeli human rights organisation The Public Committee Against Torture urged Israeli election officials to order Mr Ben-Gvir to take the Damon prison video down. The organisation argued Mr Ben-Gvir was using prison visits as part of his campaigning ahead of the upcoming October 27 election. Using the national police or prison services for "election propaganda" is against the law in Israel and is something election officials have previously fined Mr Ben-Gvir for. "The gravity of the act is compounded by the fact that the backdrop for this campaigning is women held in state custody, with no ability to object to the situation or to the mockery of their complaints," the organisation said in a letter to the Chairman of the Elections Committee. "This is a political exploitation of a defenceless population for personal electoral gain, turning documented suffering into marketing content." The organisation also argued it could constitute a war crime, by breaching the Geneva Convention protections against "humiliating and degrading treatment". Crocodile channels challenged by courts, advocates Earlier this year, Mr Ben-Gvir promoted a proposal to dig channels around the Ketziot prison in southern Israel and fill them with crocodiles as a deterrent against Palestinian prison escapees. That has been challenged by human rights advocates in the Israeli court system, but Mr Ben-Gvir has promised to press ahead with the idea despite a temporary injunction being issued. In May, he sparked global condemnation for harassing and mocking members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, intercepted by the Israeli navy whilst trying to break the country's maritime blockade of Gaza. Even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare rebuke against Mr Ben-Gvir. Senior members of the Israeli political establishment have insisted the leader of Otzma Yehudit does not represent the government's views on controversial issues, but he has not been reprimanded or sacked for his conduct. Current polling suggests his party could secure between 6 and 9 seats in the 120 seat Knesset in the October election. Mr Ben-Gvir, who is an Israeli settler, has been sanctioned by a number of countries, including Australia, for his policies and rhetoric towards Palestinians.