Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister, has called for the execution of Palestinian prisoners to ease overcrowding in the country’s jails.

Writing on social media, he welcomed a decision by the Israeli army to build 936 additional prison places for “security prisoners”. “The additional construction will allow the prison service to take in more terrorists, and will bring a partial solution to the prison crisis that exists in the Shabak,” he said, referring to the Israeli Prison Service.

“The death penalty for terrorists is the right solution to the incarceration problem, until then - glad that the government approved the proposal I brought.”

During a visit by members of the Public Defender’s Office, squalid conditions were noted, including “intolerable overcrowding”, with less than three square metres of space per person, poor sanitary conditions, pest issues, inadequate ventilation, and a lack of basic necessities for the incarcerated.