Israeli top court rejects Red Cross prison visits ban
Israel’s Supreme Court has accepted a petition against a ban imposed at the start of the Gaza Strip war, saying Israel should allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit Palestinian prisoners.
Regarding Red Cross visits to Palestinian detainees, the bar association restricted independent verification of their treatment following reports of systematic abuse, starvation and denial of medical care to Palestinian detainees.
ICRC spokesman Patrick Griffiths said: “We take into account the court’s decision and are ready to continue our work to visit detainees in Israeli detention centres.”
The decision, issued late Wednesday and covering those held in Israeli prisons and military detention, followed a joint petition by several Israeli rights organizations, including the Israeli Civil Liberties Association (ACRI), to end the ban.
The Israel Prison Service said it was implementing the decisions of competent courts but did not have any details on the timing of future visits.
The Israeli prime minister’s office and the Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The court concluded that the ban on ICRC prison visits has no sufficient basis in Israeli law or Israel’s binding international humanitarian obligations, ACRI said in a statement on Wednesday.
The state of Israel had argued that security interests demanded the suspension of ICRC visits until all Israeli hostages were returned following the Hamas-led Israeli attack on October 7, 2023.
Approximately 1200 people lost their lives in the attack and more than 250 people were taken hostage.
Israel imprisoned thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank following the attack; because it launched a military campaign that largely devastated the Gaza Strip and killed tens of thousands of people.
According to Palestinian rights group Addameer, more than 9,000 Palestinians remain in prisons, with more than 3,000 imprisoned without charge.
The ban on visits remained after the last hostage was extradited in 2026, but the court found that the ban did not meet legal standards even before that date, according to ACRI.
The Supreme Court had previously ruled that prisons did not provide adequate food for Palestinian detainees and ordered that conditions be improved; but prisoners continued to complain about lack of food months later.
