On Monday, the Knesset rejected a bill that would have prohibited the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from visiting Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel. The bill failed in its first reading by a vote of 36 to 41. The decisive factor was not a lack of political support for the substance of the bill, but the boycott of the vote by the ultra-Orthodox coalition parties amid the ongoing dispute over the draft law for yeshiva students. Under Knesset procedural rules, the same bill cannot now be reintroduced for six months.
The bill was a direct response to the Supreme Court’s ruling of June 3, 2026. The court had ruled unanimously that the government order in effect since the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, barring the Red Cross from visiting Palestinian security prisoners lacked a sufficient legal basis and therefore had to be overturned.
The now-failed legislative initiative was intended to create precisely that legal basis. The bill provided for barring the Red Cross from visiting prisoners incarcerated for terrorism or security-related offenses. In addition, the transfer of information about these prisoners would have been permitted only with the approval of the national security minister or the defense minister.
At the beginning of June, the Knesset National Security Committee had already approved the bill and cleared it for a first reading. Its sponsors justified the proposal by pointing to the ongoing criticism of the International Committee of the Red Cross following the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023. While the ICRC visits Palestinian security prisoners imprisoned in Israel, it received no access throughout the entire hostage crisis to the Israelis abducted by Hamas. In the view of the bill’s sponsors, Israel should not grant special status to an international organization as long as it has been unable to effectively fulfill its humanitarian mandate toward the Israeli hostages.
Since the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, the International Committee of the Red Cross has come under heavy criticism in Israel. Relatives of the hostages, as well as many politicians, accused the organization of failing to exert sufficient pressure on Hamas to secure visits to the abductees. Demonstrations repeatedly took place outside Red Cross offices in Israel, calling for more determined action by the organization.
Archive photo: Relatives and supporters of Israelis abducted by Hamas demonstrate in front of the offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Jaffa, demanding more decisive action from the organization to gain access to the hostages in the Gaza Strip. Jaffa, July 21, 2024. Photo: Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.
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The ICRC rejects these accusations. The organization says it worked throughout the conflict to gain access to the hostages and remained in constant contact with all parties to the conflict. However, it says visits cannot be forced against the will of a party to the conflict.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court explicitly clarified that its decision did not constitute an assessment of the conduct of Hamas or the Red Cross. Rather, the issue was solely whether the Israeli government may prohibit visits by an international humanitarian organization without an explicit legal basis. According to the justices, even in wartime, any restriction of rights must be based on a clear legal foundation.
The fact that the bill ultimately failed to secure a majority was due primarily to the current crisis within the governing coalition. The ultra-Orthodox parties are currently boycotting numerous votes in order to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The background is the months-long dispute over legislation regulating military conscription for ultra-Orthodox men. As a result, the coalition was missing several votes. Israeli media attributed the failure of the bill to the boycott by the Haredi parties.
With the bill’s rejection, the Supreme Court ruling remains decisive for now. The International Committee of the Red Cross can therefore, in principle, resume its visits to Palestinian security prisoners.
Politically, however, the debate is likely to continue. Supporters of the bill accuse the International Committee of the Red Cross of failing to press forcefully enough for access to the abducted Israelis during the hostage crisis following the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023. In their view, the organization failed to fulfill its humanitarian mandate toward the hostages. For that reason, they argue, it is not justified to allow the Red Cross unrestricted visits to Palestinians imprisoned for terrorism.
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