The High Court of Justice on Wednesday unanimously ruled to annul the government’s policy prohibiting the Red Cross from visiting Palestinian security prisoners, stating that it is not supported by Israeli or international law.

The court ruled that the state failed to present a legal foundation for its blanket policy of denying the Red Cross visiting rights to prisoners, which it allowed before the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion, despite “innumerable opportunities” and extensions given by the court to the government to do so.

The court also noted that the central justification by the government for its ban was previously that the Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were being denied Red Cross visits, but that this no longer applies, given that the last hostages were released in October of last year.

Therefore, the state must allow visits by Red Cross representatives to security prisoners and transmit information about their status, the court said, without mentioning a timeframe.

The decision was issued by Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg and Justice Daphne Barak Erez, the three most senior judges on the court.

The government imposed a blanket ban on Red Cross visits following the October 7 attacks, and petitions were filed by human rights groups against the decision in February 2024. The court gave the state numerous extensions during the course of the case, and previously appeared reluctant to rule on what was an........

© The Times of Israel