The National Security Committee held a stormy discussion on Tuesday on the issue of preventing visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons.

Israel has prevented the Red Cross from visiting Nukhba terrorists and Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli prisons since the October 7 massacre. Last year, the Supreme Court demanded that the state provide an explanation why it prevents Red Cross representatives from visiting the terrorists.

Committee chairman MK Tzvika Fogel began the discussion by slamming the one-sided mandate the Red Cross received to visit terrorists in Israel. “I don’t see it making any effort with Hamas regarding our hostages like it pressures us,” he asserted. “I will do everything possible to ensure that the Red Cross visits the hostages in Gaza, and until that happens, I’ll stand at the prison gates to prevent them from visiting prisons in Israel. The cabinet must make a decision that no Red Cross visits will be allowed until we receive information about our hostages.”

A legal advisor for the intelligence department of Israel’s Prison Service (IPS) explained that the IPS is opposed to the entry of Red Cross representatives, and this position is based on intelligence information that such visits could harm state security.

The head of the IPS’s counterterrorism department added that “we have information that the entry of the Red Cross could harm prison security and possibly also state security.” He noted that such a visit could lead to the transmission of negative messages and an increase in friction between prisoners.

Likud MK Ariel Kallner said that there have been cases in the past in which the Red Cross harmed state security. He called the organization’s request to visit “murderers” a “delusional, unfair and unjustified request.”

Adv. David Babli, advisor to the Minister of National Security, emphasized that Israeli law does not require such visits and noted that a lawsuit has been filed against the Red Cross for transferring aid to Gaza without conditioning it on visiting the hostages.

MK Limor Son Har Melech called the Red Cross an “antisemitic organization,” saying that it calls the terrorists who raped and murdered “prisoners”—biased terminology that covers up the world’s antisemitism and hypocrisy.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)