Israel must allow ICRC to visit Palestinians in prison, Supreme Court rules

Israel’s Supreme Court rejects government ban on prisoner visits, affirming Red Cross access under international law.Israel’s Supreme Court has unanimously rejected a government policy banning representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from visiting Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.The court ruled on Wednesday that by preventing the Red Cross from visiting prisoners, the government had contravened Israeli and international law, and therefore the policy must be repealed.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Netanyahu downplays US-Israel rift after Trump confirms criticismlist 2 of 3Israeli attacks kill nine in Lebanon, reach Beirut outskirtslist 3 of 3Israel and Lebanon agree on ceasefire framework in US-led talksend of listIt also ruled that the government failed to present a legal foundation for its policy on annulling all visits after the Hamas-led attack on October 2023, in which more than 1,100 people were killed and more than 240 were taken captive.The assault triggered a brutal war in Gaza, which has been defined as a genocide by several prominent scholars and an independent United Nations inquiry. The Israeli army killed more than 72,950 people in the enclave, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and reduced most of the besieged territory to rubble, and forced the displacement of nearly 1.9 million Palestinians.Violence across the occupied West Bank perpetrated by Israeli forces also intensified to unprecedented levels. All visits to prisoners were halted, and information about them was not shared – something that used to be standard practice before the war. Back then, Israeli authorities accused Hamas of failing to secure access to the captives in Gaza.It was the first time in 50 years that Israel prevented Red Cross visits, according to the Israel" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="80615" data-entity-type="organization">Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), which filed the petition.