Israel buries proposal allowing ICRC visits to Palestinian prisoners, says Haaretz

BEIRUT — Israel has buried a proposal that would have allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit Palestinian prisoners affiliated with Fatah, Haaretz reported Friday.

The initiative, put forward by the National Security Council, was blocked under pressure from National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and the prison administration.

According to a source cited by the Israeli daily, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could transfer this issue to a small ministerial forum, likely the panel responsible for humanitarian aid to Gaza, which, in addition to himself, includes Bezalel Smotrich (Finance), Ron Dermer (Strategic Affairs), and Arye Dery (head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party).

If the proposal had been put to a cabinet vote, it likely would not have received a majority, the source said, since Ben Gvir opposed it.

The plan was intended to respond to a petition filed by several Israeli NGOs: The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Physicians for Human Rights, HaMoked, and Gisha.

The state has already requested twenty extensions to present its response, citing security reasons. The petitioners, for their part, stress that "Israel remains obligated under international law to allow ICRC access to Palestinian prisoners, even if Hamas refuses to allow visits to Israeli hostages."

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Ben Gvir has said he would block any such initiative, accusing National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi of "capitulating to the enemy."

At the Knesset this week, Ohad Buzi, legal adviser for intelligence and operations at the Prison Service, argued that "allowing the Red Cross into prisons could endanger the security of the facilities and staff." A Justice Ministry representative, Shimrit Goldenberg, recalled that the matter falls under the courts and the government.

Israel suspended ICRC visits to Palestinian prisoners and stopped transmitting information about detainees starting Oct. 7, 2023, when the war against Hamas in Gaza began. Since then, conditions for "security detainees" have become even more harsh at the direction of the national security minister.

In June, however, the state informed the Supreme Court that it was working on an alternative mechanism to allow supervised visits in prison and military facilities as well as information transfers about detainees.

According to HaMoked, citing figures from the Prison Service, more than 10,000 Palestinians classified as "security detainees" are now incarcerated in Israel, often outside of regular judicial procedures. This number is double what it was in October 2023.