International movements are calling for the resumption of the International Committee of the Red Cross's visits to Israeli prisons

On February 10, a press conference was held in front of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office in Piraeh, a city in the occupied West Bank. This event was part of an international campaign to collect one million signatures demanding the ICRC resume visits to Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli jails. Simultaneously with the press conference in Albera, multiple press conferences were held in nine other cities around the world, including Beirut, Gaza, Cairo, Rabat, Tunisia, Brussels, and Paris.

First and foremost, it is worth noting that Israel has banned the international organization from visiting prisoners since October 7, 2023. Political prisoners held in Israel have also been deprived of the right to visit their families, and their lawyers have had very few opportunities to meet with them for up to 28 months, while the humanitarian conditions within the prisons continue to deteriorate. The brutal repression of the Palestinian prisoners predates the Gaza genocide but began in January 2023, initiated by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gevill.

Secondly, during the meeting, Qadullah Fares, former chair of the Committee on Detainees and Former Detainees, emphasized the crucial role of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in addressing various humanitarian issues, including the prisoner issue, both internationally and within the occupied Palestinian territories. Fares stated, “We know that the ICRC operates in accordance with international conventions and its mission as an international humanitarian organization. We are not asking the ICRC to do anything beyond its capabilities, but rather hoping that it will exert pressure on Israel through appropriate international legal channels. No one can expect racist fascist leaders like Itamar Ben-Gevill, Netanyahu, or Smotridge to reconsider their decisions and voluntarily allow renewed visits to prisoners.”

Furthermore, this goal can only be achieved by pressuring the Israeli authorities to lift arbitrary measures against prisoners. The ICRC is capable of exerting such pressure, but it chooses to operate “within the scope of the mandate granted to it by the occupying government of Israel.” Israel abuses the presence of the ICRC and other international organizations in the occupied territories to whitewash its image, suggesting that these international bodies are permitted to operate there, when in reality their jurisdiction is severely restricted by illegal Israeli regulations.

Meanwhile, Helmi Araj, director of the Center for the Defense of Freedom and Civil Rights (Hurryyat), asserts that the movement, launched in numerous cities worldwide, including European cities, provides compelling evidence that the isolation of prisoners in slum-like prisons has spurred global solidarity. It also reaffirms that all people fighting for freedom around the world consider the Palestinian prisoner issue, and especially the Palestinian cause, their own. Furthermore, Lebanese and Syrian nationals are also imprisoned in Israeli prisons, while the majority of prisoners detained in Israel are Palestinians.

Overall, the international community is strongly demanding the restoration of the International Committee of the Red Cross's (ICRC) right to regular visits to Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, a right suspended since October 2023, resulting in a lack of effective oversight of prison conditions. A UN report states that systemic abuse, including torture and medical neglect, exists in Israeli prisons and has resulted in the deaths of at least 75 Palestinians in custody. ICRC visits are crucial for ensuring humane treatment of detainees, maintaining their connections with their families, and are a key safeguard against human rights abuses. Several international human rights organizations condemned the Israeli authorities' refusal to allow ICRC visits as a violation of international humanitarian law and called for the immediate granting of independent oversight bodies access to all detention facilities in order to end potential war crimes and crimes against humanity.