What Israel is hiding behind the walls of its detention camps

Palestinian security prisoners at a detention facility in Israel in March 2026

The Haaretz lead editorial on 15 May 2026:

According to the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions, Israel is obligated to allow representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit Palestinian detainees in its custody. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has categorically refused to do so, despite being a signatory to the conventions.

Israel cited Hamas’ refusal to permit similar visits to the hostages it held in Gaza as justification. Beyond the fact that Israel, a sovereign state that aspires to be democratic and enlightened, should not compare itself to Hamas, the hostages were released long ago, and there is no excuse for preventing the visits.

The real reason for Israel’s refusal is called Itamar Ben-Gvir. Since becoming national security minister, he has worsened the conditions in which Palestinian detainees are held to the point of being inhumane. More than 80 Palestinians have died from torture, starvation and disease. The remainder are shadows of their former selves, judging by the appearance of the freed detainees who told the world what had been done to them.

The world was rocked this week by Nicholas Kristof’s column in The New York Times, in which he presented the testimonies of 14 released detainees who recounted horrific rapes, including the use of dogs. Israel denied his report categorically, calling it “one of the worst blood libels ever to appear in the modern press.” If this is indeed a blood libel, then it is even harder to understand why Israel refuses to let Red Cross representatives visit the detention camps. If the conditions in which thousands of detainees are being held – Israel does not publish their exact number – are reasonable and comply with international law, then why not allow visits and prove to the world that this is the case?

Haaretz’s Chen Maanit reported that Israel is conducting secret negotiations with the organization to allow the visits. It recently agreed to permit Red Cross personnel to enter the facilities but not to meet with detainees, as required by the Geneva Conventions. Such visits are, of course, worthless.

A society’s treatment of the people it detains – whether citizens or enemies – is a litmus test of its values and morality. A deplorable picture emerges from a few horrific videos posted on social media of Ben-Gvir’s cruel and boastful visits to the detention camps: Marwan Barghouti, frail and gaunt; shackled detainees thrown like sacks at the feet of the sadistic minister. Nir Hasson reported that 199 Palestinian children were held in isolation in 2024. The testimonies about near-starvation conditions are also terrible.

Every Israeli should be troubled by these reports. Visits by Red Cross officials could be the first step in erasing the stain that adheres to a state that treats its detainees this way.

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