Israel’s High Court Rules Red Cross May Visit Nukhba Terrorists in Israeli Prisons

A panel of High Court justices ruled today (Wednesday) that Red Cross teams will be allowed to visit terrorists imprisoned in Israeli prisons, including *Nukhba* terrorists. In doing so, the justices rejected the state’s position. The decision was unanimous and issued by Justices Daphne Barak-Erez, Noam Sohlberg, and Yitzhak Amit.

As a reminder, the policy banning visits to terrorists was put in place after the October 7 massacre, because Hamas did not allow the Red Cross to visit the Israelis abducted to the Gaza Strip.

The panel of justices, led by Justice Barak-Erez, stated that "the government did not present a legal foundation for this policy, despite the lengthy proceedings and the countless opportunities it was given to explain its position in an orderly way and ground it in law, as well as to update it in light of changing circumstances. This is especially so given that the central consideration behind the policy concerned the return of the last hostage from the Gaza Strip, yet no other concrete justification was presented in its place."

In the ruling, Barak-Erez referred to the relevant legislation in Israeli law, as well as legal provisions from international law, and argued that they provide no legal basis for the decision that was made. In the final analysis, the court held that the policy that had been adopted contradicts existing law, and therefore must be struck down.

Deputy President Sohlberg joined her, writing, "given the difficulty of reconciling the policy that was adopted with the relevant legal provisions under domestic law, which the state chose not to amend or repeal, and given that the state did not present any legal foundation whatsoever for the decisions that were made, despite the many opportunities it was given to do so." Justice Amit agreed with Justice Barak-Erez’s ruling and joined Deputy President Sohlberg’s comments.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded to the High Court’s decision: "A disgraceful decision by disconnected judges, sitting in an ivory tower and continuing to care for terrorists while Israel’s citizens pay the price of terror. Every such decision is another reminder of why the judicial system needs deep change. Reform now."