Charlie Alford

Knesset vote against ICRC ban for political prisoners in Palestine

Post author:Charlie Jaay
Post published:30 June 2026
Post last modified:1 July 2026

A law to ban visits from the humanitarian organisation, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to prisoners in Palestine is now off the table for the Knesset. The legislation was unexpectedly defeated by 41-36 votes yesterday, meaning it has been removed from Israel’s political agenda for at least six months. The defeat was in part because the ultra-orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, boycotted the vote in protest against the government’s failure to pass other laws important to their own community. These included military draft-related bills. “National security minister” and illegal settler, Itamar Ben-Gvir, blamed the Haredi Shas party leader, Aryeh Deri,…

“Israel’s” ban on ICRC visits ruled illegal, but Knesset moves to stop them permanently

Post author:Charlie Jaay
Post published:14 June 2026
Post last modified:15 June 2026

On 4 June, Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the government to lift the ban on International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visits to Palestinian detainees. It had been in place since 7 October 2023, and affected all those held in Israeli occupation prisons and military detention facilities. Israeli occupation’s ban on ICRC visits to Palestinian detainees is to be reinstated The court found there was no legal basis to justify the continued restriction. It claimed the “Israeli” government’s ban on ICRC visits violated both “Israeli” law and international humanitarian law. The decision was made following a petition by various human rights…