National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir stated that he opposes sharing information about Hamas prisoners held in Israeli prisons with the Red Cross until the Red Cross provides Israel with information about abducted Israelis.
The public organization "Moked" has filed an appeal with the High Court, with its lawyers requesting that the Prison Service be required to transfer information about the Gaza terrorists to the Red Cross. The state is expected to respond to this appeal by Friday, January 19.
In a statement from the minister's office, it was noted that "A petition has been filed against the Prison Service and other security forces, demanding information be handed over to the Red Cross about dozens of Hamas terrorists who were arrested in the Gaza Strip and are in prison in Israel. While security services and prosecutors consider allowing the Red Cross to receive data from the Prison Service, Minister Ben-Gvir objects to sharing this information, leading to a delay in response. According to Ben-Gvir, humanitarian steps are only possible in exchange for humanitarian steps. If they want information about Hamas terrorists, they must provide us with information about our abductees."
According to reports from Keshet-12 and Mako, the response prepared by the government's legal adviser, Gali Baharav-Miara, states that there are no obstacles to the transfer of data to the Red Cross. It was also mentioned that Gali Baharav-Miara concluded that the issue of transferring data to the Red Cross falls beyond the authority of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
