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By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Hamas sent Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir a video of hostages being tortured to pressure him into easing conditions for Palestinian prisoners, according to a report by the Telegraph.
Ben-Gvir, who has denied receiving any videos of Hamas torturing hostages, boasted that the conditions of Palestinian prisoners have become more severe.
Palestinian prisoners are reportedly being held at the Sde Teiman base. Ben Gvir opposes any deal that would exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
Ben-Gvir took to Twitter to not only deny he received videos from Hamas, but also to double down on his hard-line policies to put pressure on Hamas and to avoid any compromise.
He wrote, “Hamas did not send me any video, and I refuse to submit to Hamas propaganda: One should only communicate with Hamas through action.”
“The terrorist organization Hamas did not look for any reason on October 7 to murder, rape, kidnap, and abuse living citizens and even corpses, and even murdered hostages in captivity.”
He added, “Hamas must be defeated, and we must not submit to their demands for surrender: the territory of the Gaza Strip must be occupied permanently, humanitarian aid must be stopped, and Hamas must be defeated.”
“The conditions of the terrorists in the prisons have indeed worsened, and the ‘summer camps’ have stopped, and I am proud of that – I have no intention of submitting to the dictates of Hamas,” said the minister.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum responded to the report by saying, “There is no need for videos to tell us what we know: For 296 days, the hostages have been subjected to physical and mental torture, starved, and held in inhumane conditions.”
The issue of conditions in Palestinian prisons intensified the conflict between Ben-Gvir and Shin Bet after they clashed in early July over the release of prisoners.
Shin Bet made the highly controversial decision to release 50 Palestinian prisoners, including the director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza, where terrorists were embedded.
Ben-Gvir slammed the head of the Shin Bet for the decision and said, “It’s time to send the head of the Shin Bet home. He does what he wants at present.”
He added, “It’s time the prime minister stopped [Defense Minister] Gallant and the head of the Shin Bet from carrying out independent policies which contradict the position of the cabinet and the government.”
