Two extra olives for Palestinian detainee drove Ben-Gvir three hours to take them away from him

• Ben-Gvir boasted about skipping his fast-breaking meal to drive three hours to personally confront officials over the two extra olives.
• Prison Service leadership arrived expecting a severe security breach, only to be questioned directly by the minister regarding the food portion error.
• The incident highlights Ben-Gvir's ongoing policy to enforce extreme, punitive conditions.

In a revelation highlighting the extreme punitive measures and ideological obsession driving 'Israeli' penal policy, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir recounted interrupting his fast-breaking meal to undertake a three-hour drive south to Ktzi'ot Prison, solely to discipline staff after discovering a Palestinian detainee had been served eight olives instead of six.

Speaking during an interview on 'Israel's' right-wing Channel 14, Ben-Gvir detailed how a prison guard sent him a photograph of a food tray delivered to a Palestinian detainee in the remote desert facility.

"One day during the 17th of Tammuz fast, a prison guard from Ktzi'ot Prison sent me a photo of a food tray with eight olives instead of six. Eight olives instead of the six a terrorist is supposed to receive," Ben-Gvir stated during the broadcast.

Ben-Gvir described refusing to eat with his wife, Ayala, as the fast ended, insisting on driving three hours immediately to the Negev desert facility to address the discrepancy personally.

Top prison leadership summoned 

Ben-Gvir recounted how his emergency mobilization caused panic among senior leadership within the 'Israel' Prison Service (IPS).

Unaware of the minister's specific motive, the IPS Commissioner, the regional district commander, and the warden of Ktzi'ot Prison rushed to the facility, assuming a critical security failure or operational crisis had occurred.

"I drove and drove without breaking my fast. Behind me came the Prison Service Commissioner thinking, 'What does the minister want? There must be a major failure.' Behind him, the district commander and the prison warden all arrived, out of breath, wondering what the minister wanted," Ben-Gvir recalled.

Upon arrival, Ben-Gvir displayed the photograph of the meal tray to the assembled commanders.

"They said to me, 'What are you showing us?' I told them, 'Don't you get it? Eight olives instead of six?'" Ben-Gvir boasted. "They looked at each other, and I was sure one of them wanted to say 'the minister has completely lost his mind.' I told them: 'Guys, governance starts with olives.'"

Systemic deprivation 

Ben-Gvir concluded his anecdote by affirming that the raid served as a calculated directive to ensure Palestinian detainees receive no leniency.

"They will not receive a single grain more than what is required by law—the absolute minimum of the minimum. They understood the message," Ben-Gvir said.

Critics and human rights advocates point to the broadcast as an explicit demonstration of Ben-Gvir's extremist approach to governance, where high-ranking state and security resources are deployed to micromanage the denial of basic food supplies to detainees.

Since taking office, the far-right minister has repeatedly taken credit for stripping Palestinian detainees of basic rights -including drastically reducing food quantities, restricting water supply, confiscating personal belongings, and limiting medical care- drawing widespread condemnation from international legal organizations documenting widespread starvation and abuse across 'Israeli' detention facilities.