Israel bans Red Cross from visiting Palestinians held without trial

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has officially barred the International Committee of the Red Cross from visiting Palestinians held under Israel’s so-called “unlawful combatants” law, a legal category that does not exist under international law and allows indefinite detention without charge, trial or oversight.

Katz claimed in a decree that allowing ICRC access would “seriously harm national security”, effectively ensuring that Palestinian detainees held under this exceptional measure remain entirely hidden from international monitoring.

Under the Unlawful Combatants Law, Israel can label any Palestinian an “unlawful combatant” and lock them up indefinitely without due process, blocking access to lawyers, outside observers and even keeping them in facilities beyond the standard judicial system.

Israel is currently holding at least 2,673 Palestinians under this system as of October 2023, according to figures from the Israel Prison Service obtained by the Israeli rights group HaMoked.

Rights organisations and UN experts have repeatedly condemned the practice as a tool of enforced disappearance and collective punishment.