Ben Gvir calls opposition MKs ‘Hamas spokespeople’ after they pan prisoner policy

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calls opposition lawmakers “Hamas spokespeople” during a stormy Knesset meeting, after they lambast him for bragging about harsh conditions imposed on Palestinian security prisoners, which reportedly led to increased abuse of hostages held in Gaza.

The far-right leader is expected to brief lawmakers in the Knesset National Security Committee on his ministry’s activities, but first touts the changes he has brought to the prison system, sparking outrage in the crowded meeting hall.

Freed hostages, most recently Bar Kuperstein, have attested to having been beaten and starved by their Hamas captors as revenge for Ben Gvir’s repeated public remarks about harsher prison conditions on his watch.

“Bar Kuperstein, [one hostage] after another are saying what they’ve endured because of you,” The Democrats MK Naama Lazimi shouts at Ben Gvir. “Our people were kidnapped on your watch, shame on you!”

“Hamas is proud of you,” he retorts, calling Lazimi a “Hamas spokeswoman” as she is escorted out of the meeting by Knesset security. Ben Gvir gestures to other opposition MKs: “You’re all Hamas spokespeople here.”

Earlier in the meeting, the minister doubled down on his demand to enact the death penalty for Palestinian terrorists.

“Jails have turned into a nightmare for terrorists, and I’m proud of this,” he boasts to the committee, but “it is still not enough.”

He says he continues to demand a death penalty law from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I asked him, this is still my demand and he also knows that he has a deadline,” he says.

Ben Gvir calls MK Naama Lazimi (The Democrats) a "Hamas spokeswoman" after she lambasts him for bragging about harsh prison conditions for Palestinian inmates, which several freed hostages have said prompted brutal revenge beatings by their Hamas captors pic.twitter.com/vAXV7ZE8Up

— charlie summers (@cbsu03) October 27, 2025