Israel blocks Red Cross visits to Palestinian terror prisoners, cites security risks

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz signed an order on Wednesday barring representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from visiting Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli prisons.

Thousands of prisoners whose names appear on a confidential list attached to the order are being held under the "Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law."

The order went into effect after Katz obtained a professional opinion from the General Security Service and was then convinced that these visits would endanger state security.

"The opinions presented to me indicate without a doubt that Red Cross visits to terrorists in prisons will seriously harm the security of the state. The security of the state and our citizens comes first," Katz said.

An expanded panel of five judges from Israel's High Court of Justice heard a petition on Wednesday demanding that the government reinstate ICRC visits to Palestinian detainees held in Israel's custody. The hearing took place in front of a bench comprised of three justices, including President Isaac Amit, Deputy President Noam Solberg and Justice Daphne Barak-Erez. 

The petitioners – the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, HaMoked, Gisha, and Physicians for Human Rights – alleged that Israel’s blocking of Red Cross access to Palestinian prisoners, introduced in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, violates both Israeli and international law.

The petition was originally filed in February 2024 and asserts that the suspension of ICRC visits came without legal basis and in violation of Israel’s binding obligations under the Geneva Conventions, as well as customary international law. 

Several testimonies were included in the petition from security wings in multiple detention facilities, alleging overcrowding, denial of medical care, and what the petitioners claim is “starvation.”

The ICRC stated that it has been denied access to Palestinian detainees since October 2023 and claims the ban infringes on its humanitarian role in conflict zones.

The Israeli government maintains that Red Cross access creates a security risk for Israel, citing Shin Bet domestic intelligence warnings about the potential entry of “foreign actors” into sensitive facilities.

In September, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office formally asked the High Court to defer the hearing by an additional month, expressing concerns that it potentially could have undermined the release of the hostages. 

In October, Israel released 2,000 prisoners convicted of violent crimes in exchange for the 20 remaining living hostages. According to a new report published by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), at least 160 Palestinian prisoners recently freed under the hostage deal amassed millions of dollars while in Israeli prisons, receiving regular stipends from the Palestinian Authority (PA) that increased based on the length of their sentences.

At least 150 of the released terrorists who were serving life sentences for murdering Israelis have reportedly been hosted at a luxury hotel in Cairo, Egypt, alongside unsuspecting Western tourists, according to an i24 News report.