LONDON, (PIC)
The Red Ribbons Campaign for the Release of Palestinian Hostages and Prisoners held in Israeli prisons has renewed its urgent call on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to take immediate humanitarian action to ensure the practical implementation of the Israeli Supreme Court’s ruling of 3 June 2026, which revoked the blanket prohibition on ICRC visits to Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli custody.
The statement on Tuesday follows the publication last week of the Campaign’s open letter to the President and Director-General of the ICRC, urging the organization to use all appropriate humanitarian means within its mandate to restore regular, meaningful and independent access to Palestinian hostages and prisoners in accordance with international humanitarian law and the ICRC’s own established standards for detention visits.
The Campaign welcomed the Court’s decision as an important legal development but stressed that its value will ultimately be measured by its implementation. A judicial ruling alone cannot protect those in custody unless it results in the immediate resumption of genuine humanitarian visits, enabling independent monitoring of detention conditions, the welfare of detainees, and the restoration of family contact.
The Campaign emphasized that independent humanitarian access is not a privilege granted by a detaining authority but a fundamental safeguard recognized under international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions. Limited, selective or supervised access cannot substitute for the comprehensive detention visits required to provide meaningful humanitarian protection.
Dr Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative, said:
“The continued denial of humanitarian visits and independent international monitoring for Palestinian prisoners constitutes a serious violation of the most fundamental humanitarian and legal standards that should apply equally to all prisoners and detainees without exception.
If the legal barriers preventing the International Committee of the Red Cross from carrying out its humanitarian mission no longer exist, and if the legislative justifications previously relied upon are no longer in force, then what is now required is concrete action by the ICRC to fulfil its humanitarian responsibilities towards Palestinian prisoners.
We call on the International Committee of the Red Cross to respond to the appeals and requests addressed to it and to act without delay to secure access to Palestinian prisoners and assess their humanitarian and medical conditions. Protecting human dignity is not a privilege afforded to some and denied to others; it is a universal right that must be upheld for every human being without discrimination.”
Adnan Hmidan, Coordinator of the Red Ribbons Campaign, said:
“No Palestinian hostage or prisoner should be left beyond the reach of humanitarian protection or hidden from independent scrutiny. The Israeli Supreme Court’s ruling must now be translated into practical action through the immediate restoration of regular ICRC visits. Legal decisions alone do not protect those in detention, only their implementation does. We are asking for nothing more than the application of the humanitarian principles upon which the ICRC was founded: the protection of every person deprived of liberty without exception.”
Attorney Khaled Mahajneh, who represents Palestinian prisoners before the Israeli courts, added:
“The continued failure of the International Committee of the Red Cross to carry out its humanitarian responsibilities towards Palestinian prisoners raises serious legal and ethical questions, particularly in the absence of any binding legal obstacle preventing it from visiting detainees or monitoring their humanitarian conditions in accordance with the mandate conferred upon it by international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.
The Israeli Supreme Court has now removed the legal basis for the blanket ban on ICRC visits, while legislative attempts to formally prohibit the organization from carrying out these visits failed to become binding law. The legal opportunity therefore remains open for the ICRC to fulfil its humanitarian and professional responsibilities, should it choose to do so, particularly in light of the growing reports concerning the humanitarian and legal conditions facing Palestinian prisoners.
Protecting the dignity of prisoners and ensuring their most basic rights is not a political issue; it is a legal and humanitarian obligation at the very heart of the international system established in the aftermath of war and humanitarian catastrophe. As a lawyer practicing in Israel and closely involved in prisoners’ cases and human rights litigation, I firmly believe that Palestinian prisoners deserve the same humanitarian protection and independent oversight guaranteed under international law to all persons deprived of their liberty. Silence or inaction at this stage neither serves the principles of international humanitarian law nor reflects the humanitarian mission for which the International Committee of the Red Cross was established.”
The Campaign reiterated that its open letter does not seek to challenge the ICRC’s neutrality, independence or confidential methods of humanitarian engagement. Rather, it calls upon the organization to make full use of its humanitarian mandate to secure access that satisfies its own established criteria, including access to all detainees within its field of concern, private interviews, repeat visits, and independent humanitarian verification of detention conditions.
The Campaign further stressed that the legal responsibility for implementing the Supreme Court’s ruling and allowing humanitarian access rests with the Israeli authorities. At the same time, it believes the ICRC has both the opportunity and the responsibility to pursue every available humanitarian avenue to ensure that the Court’s decision results in genuine and effective access, rather than remaining a legal ruling without practical effect.
The Red Ribbons Campaign confirmed that it will continue engaging with the ICRC, relevant United Nations mechanisms and the wider international community until regular, effective and independent humanitarian access is restored for all Palestinian hostages and prisoners held in Israeli custody, in accordance with international humanitarian law.