Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has published a video showing himself inside the prison cell of Palestinian prisoner Hassan Salameh, whom he threatens to kill and execute. Hassan Salameh has been held in Israeli prison since 1996.

“I want to kill you. I want to execute you,” Ben-Gvir tells Salameh in the footage posted on Sunday, September 27. Salameh is shown handcuffed and surrounded by security personnel.

Ben-Gvir said the video was recorded around two weeks earlier. Referring to the 1996 Jerusalem bus bombings, he said he had protested against the attacks as a teenager.

He also said that if he becomes defence minister in a future Israeli government, he would work to implement death sentences against prisoners such as Salameh. Ben-Gvir further reiterated his support for what he calls “voluntary migration” from Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Watch the video here : Hamas, Palestinian groups react : Hamas described Ben-Gvir’s remarks as provocative and a violation of international law.

The group said the video would not weaken Salameh or other Palestinian prisoners and reaffirmed its efforts to secure their release.

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said the footage reflected what it described as a policy of targeting Palestinian detainees.

The Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs also criticised the video. Its head, Raed Abu al-Hummus, said Ben-Gvir’s actions demonstrated what he described as degrading treatment of Palestinian prisoners.

Who is Hassan Salameh?
Salameh, a Palestinian prisoner and Hamas figure, has been held by Israel since 1996.

He was convicted over his alleged involvement in a series of attacks in 1996, including bus bombings in Jerusalem. According to Anadolu Agency, he was sentenced in 1997 to 48 life terms.

Salameh has spent nearly three decades in Israeli prisons. Palestinian prisoner organisations have reported that he also spent extended periods in solitary confinement.

His name has featured in previous prisoner exchange negotiations, including the 2011 deal in which Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.

Ben-Gvir’s latest remarks come amid his longstanding support for the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners and debate in Israel over legislation concerning capital punishment.