Rights Group Petitions High Court to End Prison Emergency Orders Amid Overcrowding
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) has filed a petition with the Supreme Court demanding the cancellation of emergency orders that permit ongoing overcrowding in Israeli prisons. ACRI argues that current detention conditions violate Israeli law and previous Supreme Court rulings, citing instances where detainees lack beds and are forced to sleep on mattresses. The organization also seeks to revoke the "state of emergency in prisons" declaration, which has been extended since the start of the war. ACRI contends this measure, initially a temporary fix for a surge in detainees, has become a permanent arrangement allowing the state to bypass legal standards for detention.
According to ACRI data as of August 31, 2026, approximately 60% of Israel's 13,653 detainees are held in spaces less than three square meters per person, a standard the Supreme Court has previously deemed inadequate for humane living. This category includes about 90% of security prisoners, totaling 8,422 individuals. Furthermore, the data indicates that around 19% of all detainees sleep on mattresses instead of beds.
ACRI emphasizes that prison overcrowding predates the current war, referencing a 2017 Supreme Court ruling that mandated at least 4.5 square meters per detainee as part of the right to human dignity. Despite this ruling, many prisoners were held in substandard conditions even before the war. The conflict, which began on October 7, 2023, led to a significant increase in the detainee population, but ACRI asserts the state opted to extend emergency orders rather than implement solutions to reduce overcrowding.
The emergency orders, first enacted after October 7, 2023, to manage the sharp rise in detainees, were intended as a temporary measure. However, ACRI argues their continuous extension has effectively made them a permanent arrangement, enabling the state to hold thousands in conditions that fall short of legal and judicial standards. The organization believes extending the emergency status does not address the root causes of overcrowding but merely postpones necessary action.
ACRI states that severe overcrowding forces many detainees to spend most of their day in cells due to lack of space, potentially causing psychological and physical harm and increasing tension and disease risk within prisons. Security prisoners, in particular, are often confined to their cells for up to 23 hours daily. The group also points to a broader deterioration in detention conditions since the war's outset, including reduced basic services, restricted medical access, and alleged mistreatment of prisoners, linking these issues to the ongoing emergency status.
ACRI attributes the prison crisis not to security realities but to state policies on arrest and enforcement. Instead of reducing detainee numbers or exploring alternatives to detention, the state has focused on expanding prison facilities, which ACRI views as an inadequate response to the scale of the overcrowding. The petition calls for the cancellation of emergency orders and immediate steps to alleviate overcrowding, improve conditions, and ensure detainees' rights are respected.
