Israeli Supreme Court accuses government of violating Red Cross visit order

The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled that the government is violating a judicial decision requiring it to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons and military detention facilities.

Judges Yitzhak Amit, Noam Solberg, and Dafna Barak-Erez ordered the government to clarify by October 11 whether all necessary steps to resume these visits have been completed. The court noted that more than three months have passed since the original ruling, stating, “the practical meaning of the ruling is that the defendants are obligated to allow Red Cross visits to detention facilities with the required speed.”

The ruling follows a petition from four human rights organizations. While the ICRC recently conducted a preliminary assessment of a military detention facility, it has not yet been permitted to meet or communicate directly with detainees. Tensions remain as the Commissioner of the Israel Prison Service, Kobi Yaacobi, has proposed new, highly restrictive protocols for visits, including intelligence checks and prior approvals, which the ICRC has found difficult to implement in practice.