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العربية
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The first family visit petition
On 17 November 2025, HaMoked and other organizations filed a petition with the High Court of Justice (HCJ) on behalf of seven West Bank residents, against the Israel Prison Service (IPS), the Minister of National Security, and the Military Commander of the West Bank. The petitioners called on the HCJ to revoke the ban on family visits for inmates classified as “security prisoners,” arguing that a general and vague claim of “security needs” is insufficient to justify the ongoing violation of the inmates’ fundamental right to family life, particularly following the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip
On January 7, 2023, the IPS declared an incarceration emergency, mandating a full ban on family visits for "security" inmates in Israeli prisons, which was later codified in an amendment to a temporary order. As its name suggests, this amendment was meant to provide an emergency solution for prison authorities following the outbreak of the war in Gaza, whereby regulations would be updated occasionally, according to developments in the security situation. Ever since then, more than two years after the war broke out, and despite the ceasefire, the ban on family visits remains in force. Another extension of the amendment to the temporary order, valid until July 31, 2026, was approved by the Knesset, leaving 9,243 "security" inmates, including minors, women and administrative detainees held without trial, completely cut off from their families.
In light of this reality, on January 26, 2024, HaMoked began sending repeated appeals to the IPS Commissioner, demanding the gradual return of family prison visits. In its appeals, HaMoked argued that considerations of human rights must be central to the conduct of state authorities, even, and especially, in a state of emergency. This is particularly crucial in emergencies like this one, with seemingly no end in sight. The IPS rejected the appeals, claiming to have security assessments indicating a concrete danger in allowing family visits for "security" inmates.
On October 25, 2025, following the ceasefire, HaMoked appealed to the IPS Commissioner again, requesting a renewal of family visits. In its communication, HaMoked argued that the substantial change in the security situation justifies a gradual resumption of family visits after two long years of near-complete isolation from the outside world.
When the IPS failed to provide a response, HaMoked filed another petition with the HCJ on November 18, 2025, seeking the revocation of the policy barring family visits, due to the lack of a clear and substantiated justification to extend it. The petition maintained that the conduct of the IPS breaches the basic right to family life, which lies at the heart of the Israeli legal system. It further claimed that the ban amounts to a collective punishment imposed on the inmates' relatives, who are denied the right to see their loved ones through no fault of their own.
HaMoked concluded the petition by emphasizing that extending the ban on family visits “under the guise of a never-ending emergency” deprives tens of thousands of inmates and their family members of their basic rights, thereby rendering meaningless the state's obligation to protect the rights of its military subjects and those incarcerated in its territory. This aggravation joins a slew of steps put in place to severely degrade inmates’ living conditions since the outbreak of the war, while many of them were detained before 7 October 7, 2023.
On November 25, 2025, the HCJ dismissed HaMoked's petition, holding that it failed to exhaust administrative remedies with the IPS. In its decision, the HCJ noted that Hamoked had not waited a sufficient period of time after sending its most recent letter to the IPS.
Exhaustion of remedies and the second petition
HaMoked sent three letters to the Israel Prison Service (IPS) Commissioner requesting that the blanket ban on family visits be annuled, the latest on April 27, 2026. Time and again, the IPS maintained its position that the security situation did not permit family visits for Palestinian "security" detainees.
Consequently, on July 26, 2026, HaMoked, together with three other human rights organizations, filed another petition to the High Court of Justice challenging the continued ban on family visits. The petition argued that holding approximately 9,300 men, women, and children in complete isolation from their families for nearly three years, despite the significant reduction in the intensity of the fighting, constitutes an ongoing violation of their most fundamental rights.
The petition further warned that the continued reliance on security considerations to justify a sweeping denial of the rights of "security" detainees is both dangerous and disproportionate:
"The words 'state of emergency,' much like 'security considerations,' must not become magic words that permit the abandonment of legality, proportionality, and fairness."
