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Photos:
Ofer Prison, an incarceration facility for security detainees in the West Bank. Credit: Olivier Fitoussi

Gilboa Prison, an incarceration facility housing dangerous security detainees in northern Israel. Credit: Gil Eliyahu
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Israel's High Court struck down a blanket policy barring visits by the Red Cross to security prisoners held in Israel, saying the state's main reasoning for the ban – linked to efforts to secure the return of hostages from Gaza – was no longer applicable

by Chen Maanit for Haaretz
11:25 PM • June 03 2026 IDT

Israel's High Court of Justice unanimously struck down a blanket policy barring visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross to security prisoners held in Israeli prisons and military facilities, ruling that the government failed to present a legal basis for the restriction.

The court said the state did not provide a sufficient legal or factual justification for the policy, which was introduced after Hamas' October 7 massacre and remained in place even after all Israeli hostages held in Gaza were returned.

Justice Daphne Barak-Erez wrote in the ruling that the state's central rationale for the ban – linked to efforts to secure the return of hostages from Gaza – was no longer applicable, and no alternative concrete justification had been presented despite multiple opportunities.

The state told the High Court in early May that it would allow the Red Cross to visit prisons holding Palestinian security detainees for the first time since Hamas' 2023 attack, though the organization would still be barred from meeting prisoners individually.

In its statement, the state said the decision was made at the instruction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and would permit Red Cross representatives to tour facilities and meet prison staff, but not speak privately with inmates.

Israel halted Red Cross prison visits and stopped transferring information about Palestinian detainees on the first day of the war. At the same time, security prisoners' conditions were significantly worsened at the initiative of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, despite reports of rights violations and warnings from Israeli security officials that harsher conditions could endanger the hostages held in Gaza.

In January, Israeli human rights group B'Tselem published a report detailing alleged abuses in Israeli security prisons, citing testimonies of violence by prison guards, soldiers and Shin Bet personnel, including sexual violence, starvation, mistreatment, harsh living conditions and the denial of medical care.