Palestinian prisoner organizations revealed that the National Security Committee of the Israeli Knesset approved a bill aimed at preventing representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross from entering prisons to visit Palestinian detainees. According to the organizations, this move is part of a broader effort to legally entrench human rights violations within the prison system.
The Palestinian Prisoners' Commission and the Prisoners' Club stated that this initiative seeks to turn the extraordinary measures implemented in prisons since the outbreak of the war into permanent rules. According to the statement, this situation further entrenches the regime of oppression, isolation, and ill-treatment in prisons.
New move despite court ruling
The organizations also viewed the bill as an attempt to override the Israeli Supreme Court's decision regarding Red Cross visits. The statement emphasized that despite the court ruling the long-term ban unlawful, the legislative body is establishing a new closure line.
According to the Palestinian organizations, this situation shows that judicial decisions alone do not produce results on the ground. If rulings do not translate into binding enforcement, violations in prisons cannot be prevented.
Restrictions on visits have lasted for years
The Commission and the Club reported that Israeli authorities have been narrowing the Red Cross's role in prisons for years, limiting the organization's inspection and humanitarian access capacity for various reasons. During this process, many visits have been reduced to merely organizing family meetings for detainees.
The statement noted that these restrictions intensified after the war began. The Red Cross's access to prisons has been completely blocked, family visits halted, and severe limitations imposed on lawyer meetings.
Allegations of isolation, torture, and ill-treatment
Palestinian prisoner organizations claimed that alongside these practices, torture, ill-treatment, starvation, and humiliation of detainees have increased. It was also stated that prisoners face threats and attacks when taken outside the prison to meet with lawyers.
The organizations said this situation has turned into an organized system of oppression in prisons and has become one of the most prominent features of the current phase. Therefore, access for international monitoring mechanisms has become even more critical.
Call to the international community
Palestinian organizations called on the international community and human rights circles to take concrete steps to protect the access of institutions like the Red Cross to prisons. The statement warned that if impunity continues, violations will deepen further.
The Commission and the Prisoners' Club argued that this process concerns not only Palestinians but also human rights defenders worldwide. According to the organizations, weakening international protection mechanisms poses a serious risk to the rule of law.
Prison population figures highlighted
The statement also shared data on the number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. According to the data, there are approximately 9,500 Palestinian detainees and convicts in prisons.
This number includes 3,324 administrative detainees, about 95 female detainees, approximately 360 children, and 1,316 individuals classified by Israeli authorities as "illegal combatants." The organizations noted that this figure also reflects the ongoing large-scale arrest wave following the attacks on Gaza.
