DaysofPal- The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled that a policy imposed by the Israeli government since October 2023, which barred the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from visiting Palestinian detainees and transmitting information about them, was unlawful and must be revoked.
The decision was issued unanimously by the court, which concluded that the Israeli government had failed, for more than two years, to provide any legal basis justifying the policy. The judges noted that despite multiple opportunities during the proceedings, the state did not present a clear legal framework to support the continued ban.
Justice Dafna Barak-Erez, who authored the principal opinion, described the case as highly unusual. She noted that Israeli authorities had submitted dozens of requests for postponements and extensions over a period exceeding two years, both for filing their initial response and for submitting detailed pleadings and supplementary memoranda. These repeated delays significantly prolonged the legal process.
Barak-Erez stated that the court had exercised considerable patience throughout the proceedings but ultimately found itself facing the absence of a structured and comprehensive legal position from the state to justify maintaining the restrictions.
According to the ruling, the central argument advanced by Israel during the hearings was linked to the issue of Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip. However, the court observed that the policy remained in force even after the process of securing their return had been completed, while the government failed to provide any new justification or concrete reasons for continuing the ban.
The judges said they reviewed relevant Israeli legislation alongside applicable international law and found no legal authority permitting a blanket prohibition on Red Cross visits or the suspension of information transfers concerning Palestinian detainees.
Israel imposed the restrictions on the ICRC following the outbreak of the genocide on October 7, 2023, ending a decades-long practice that had allowed the organization to visit Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons and relay information regarding their whereabouts and conditions of detention.
The ruling came in response to a petition filed by several human rights organizations, including Adalah, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, HaMoked, and Gisha.
The organizations challenged the legality of the ban, particularly in light of increasing reports concerning the conditions of Palestinian detainees since the beginning of the war.
The decision concludes a legal battle that lasted more than two years and was marked by a series of postponement requests submitted by the Israeli government throughout the court’s consideration of the petition.
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