National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced Sunday evening that he’s exploring legal action against Channel 12 correspondent Muhammed Magadli. The move comes after the journalist gave a series of speeches in Arab communities, calling on voters to turn out and criticizing the minister’s policies toward security prisoners in Israeli jails.
עיתונאי חדשות 12 מוחמד מג’אדלה בסבב הרצאות קורא לציבור לצאת ולהצביע בכדי לשפר את מצב האסירים בבתי הכלא. https://t.co/m6hwZEqGPD
— (((IsraelMatzav))) (@IsraelMatzav) October 24, 2026
In a sharp response, Ben-Gvir attacked Magadli’s conduct, claiming it crossed the line from legitimate journalism. “It’s extremely serious that a Channel 12 journalist is taking an active part in elections, and doing so in support of terrorists, to improve their conditions in prison,” the minister said, adding a threat: “I’m examining all legal options for dealing with this terror supporter.”
The controversy erupted after a collection of videos from Magadli’s lectures in various cities was posted on X. In the footage, the journalist can be heard encouraging the Arab sector to exercise its democratic right while sharply criticizing the government and Ben-Gvir’s handling of security prisoners.
In one circulated clip, Magadli complained about prisoners’ food conditions, claiming they don’t receive meat and that their rice portions have been significantly reduced. According to him, this stems from “a minister who wakes up in the morning and decides there’s no food.” He also attacked Ben-Gvir’s visits to prison wings and statements he made toward the prisoners.
Magadli responded to the publications, claiming his words were taken out of context, edited, and translated in a biased manner. “Set aside the tendentious sentence cutting and most of the translations that were deliberately distorted,” he wrote. He added that Arab citizens have the right to oppose Ben-Gvir’s policies at the ballot box, and signed off his response with a call: “Go vote!”
The public storm also drew in Shlomi Ziv, who survived Hamas captivity, who responded to Magadli’s remarks and asked him directly: “When we were in captivity, did you also stand like that and fight for us to get more food?”