Denial of Attorneys Becomes Ben-Gvir’s Tool Against Palestinian Prisoners

Since October 2023, lawyers representing Palestinian prisoners face increased harassment as prison conditions worsen and detainees are cut off from family and Red Cross visits. Under National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s influence, the Prison Service often bars lawyers from entering jails for weeks or months, based on secret intelligence they can’t challenge.

In some cases, lawyers were punished simply for asking to bring photos or exchanging words with guards. False accusations of passing messages to prisoners have been publicly spread, though courts later overturned these bans.

Unsurprisingly, the Prison Service, heavily influenced by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has stepped up harassment of these lawyers. One common tactic is denying lawyers entry to prisons for extended periods, sometimes lasting weeks or months. These decisions are based on classified intelligence that lawyers cannot access, leaving them unable to defend themselves or challenge the restrictions.

For example, Vadim Goldstein, head of Ofer Prison, barred a lawyer after a heated exchange, citing intelligence that the lawyer was allegedly transmitting messages to prisoners. In another case, Goldstein banned a lawyer for six months after the lawyer simply asked a guard if they could bring a photo of the detainee’s children to a visit. The Prison Service compounded the punishment with a defamatory press release accusing the lawyer of sending messages to terrorists, a claim eagerly seized upon by the media. In both cases, court petitions eventually forced the Prison Service to reverse its decisions.

On several occasions, lawyers have even been accused of attempting to relay greetings from prisoners’ families—a minimal act of humanity now criminalized. This hostile environment is underscored by repeated incidents where guards frustrate lawyers by making them wait hours, limiting visits to just minutes, imposing unreasonable intervals between meetings, and demanding to review legal documents such as affidavits before permitting access.

Source: Haaretz Editorial