The Knesset rejected a bill aimed at preventing representatives of the International Red Cross from visiting Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention centers after the proposed bill’s first reading on Monday.
The proposal received 36 votes, but was removed from the Knesset’s agenda after 42 MKs voted against the bill.
The proposed bill would also prohibit the sharing of information regarding detainees without the approval of the national security minister or the defense minister.
An explanatory statement regarding the proposal cited “the security risk involved in the entry of external elements into prisons” as the reason for the bill being put forward. “It is proposed to determine that representatives of the International Red Cross will not be allowed into prisons and places of detention as defined in the Law on the Imprisonment of Unlawful Combatants," the explanatory statement continued.
Ben-Gvir blames haredi boycott against coalition voting for failure of bill
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir described the legislation as “correct and important,” noting that Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7 massacre did not receive any visits from the Red Cross.
He decried those who voted against it after haredi (ultra-orthodox) parties, United Torah Judaism (UJT) and Shas, vowed to boycott coalition voting in retaliation for haredi-favored legislation failing to pass quickly enough.
Ben-Gvir stated that voting against the bill is equivalent to voting in favor of Hamas’s Nukhba force terrorists and that disrupting the legislative agenda “will not help the Haredi public” and will instead harm Israel’s national security.
The Shas party clarified that they support preventing Red Cross representatives from visiting prisoners but claimed that they cannot vote for the proposal until “after the approval of the Basic Law on Torah Study.”
Red Cross ban previously deemed unlawful by High Court
The proposed bill came weeks after the High Court of Justice unanimously accepted a petition against Israel’s ban on Red Cross visits and ruled on June 3 that the ban was unlawful.
The ruling, which was issued by Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, Deputy President Noam Sohlberg, and Justice Daphne Barak-Erez, detailed that despite the security sensitivities surrounding the issue, the state did not present a coherent legal basis for the ban.
Sarah Ben-Nun and Keshet Neev contributed to this report.