A HUMAN rights group has described Israel’s so-called security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, as the ‘hangman of the century’ over his efforts to advance a controversial death penalty legislation targeting Palestinian abductees.
The Red Ribbons Campaign ‘condemned in the strongest terms’ Ben-Gvir’s push for the execution of Palestinians held unlawfully in Israeli jails.
‘Ben Gvir has earned the 2026 grim crown as the “World’s hangman of the century” for his continued efforts to promote apartheid and racism against Palestinians, and for expressing his aims to hang Palestinian prisoners and kill them by all means,’ it said.
The rights group also warned that many Palestinian abductees could now face the death penalty.
Earlier this month, Ben-Gvir celebrated his 50th birthday with a cake featuring the image of a hanging noose and a Hebrew phrase reading ‘Dreams sometimes come true,’ sparking widespread condemnation.
The design referenced a March 2026 Israeli Knesset (parliament) vote for a death penalty law against Palestinian abductees.
‘I am disgusted by scenes of an Israeli Minister glorifying violence with the image of a noose on his lapel and his birthday cake,’ United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.
Ben-Gvir has repeatedly demanded harsher prison conditions for Palestinians and opposed nearly every effort towards de-escalation in Gaza.
He has threatened to dissolve Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition whenever ceasefire talks gained momentum, framing any pause in the genocidal war on Gaza as a ‘surrender’.
Over the past years, Ben-Gvir has several times led provocative incursions by Israeli settlers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East al-Quds.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas yesterday condemned the escalating crimes and violations against Palestinian female prisoners held in Israeli jails, stating that physical and psychological torture constitute war crimes.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Hamas said the continued detention of 87 Palestinian female prisoners – including pregnant women, sick detainees, and minors – under harsh conditions, lacking proper healthcare and adequate food reveals ‘the fascist face’ of the Israeli regime and its use of the prison system as a tool for repression, revenge and breaking the will of the Palestinian people.
The movement further stated that the prosecution and abduction of Palestinian women based on their opinions or social media posts confirms the escalation of state-sponsored terrorism practised by the cabinet of war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu against the Palestinian people.
Hamas called upon the United Nations, international human rights organisations, and the International Committee of the Red Cross to take urgent action to pressure for the immediate release of all female prisoners.
The movement also urged the UN to hold Israeli leaders accountable for their ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people and female prisoners.
The statement was issued after the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office previously reported that female Palestinian prisoners in Damon Prison had been subjected to the most extensive operations of suppression and pressure by the Israeli forces during April.
According to the report, more than 10 suppression operations have been carried out in Damon Prison over the past month, including violent raids, beatings, shackling, solitary confinement and forced transfers.
The Prisoners’ Media Office described the conditions inside the prison as ‘catastrophic’, citing severe overcrowding, prisoners sleeping on the floor, shortages of sanitary facilities and clothing, as well as poor food quality.
According to the office, these conditions have led to a noticeable deterioration in the physical health of the prisoners.
The Prisoners’ Media Office emphasised that what is taking place in Damon Prison is part of ‘an organised suppression policy aimed at breaking the prisoners’ will’ and requires immediate and serious intervention by international and human rights bodies.
