Coalition's Red Cross Ban Bill Fails First Reading After Ultra-Orthodox Boycott

The coalition's bill to prevent the International Red Cross from visiting terrorists in Israeli prisons failed its first reading in the Knesset on Monday evening. The bill was rejected by 41 votes against and 36 in favor. The failure followed a boycott by ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Knesset members, who declared they would not support coalition legislation until their own bills, aimed at preventing the arrest of draft dodgers and establishing a Basic Law on Torah study, were advanced.

While the coalition agreed to postpone other bills due to the Haredi boycott, it decided to proceed with this particular bill, which was proposed by MK Sabri Saidam and supported by Itamar Ben-Gvir. Ben-Gvir claimed that Shas had suggested postponing the vote to Wednesday, but by then the bill would no longer be relevant due to coalition opposition.

Following the vote, a near-physical confrontation erupted between MK Ayman Odeh and coalition chairman Ofir Katz. Katz accused Odeh of serving terrorists against the Israeli people, to which Odeh responded with a derogatory term. Katz then called Odeh a "terrorist."

The bill sought to prohibit representatives of the International Red Cross from entering prisons and detention centers held by the IDF and to ban the transfer of information about prisoners to the organization without approval from the National Security Minister or Defense Minister, subject to security considerations.

Ben-Gvir criticized Shas for blocking the bill, accusing the party of harming Israel's security and allowing what he called an anti-Semitic organization to visit terrorists and spread false accusations against Israeli prison guards and the state. He referred to a "Deri-Tibi deal" returning in force, calling it a disgrace.