Israeli High Court Orders State to Improve Conditions for Nukhba Terrorists in Prison

Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled on Sunday that the Israel Prison Service (IPS) is obligated to provide security prisoners with “basic living conditions,” including food in sufficient quantity and composition to safeguard their health.

The decision followed a petition alleging that security inmates were suffering from hunger and malnutrition, particularly after their ability to purchase food at the prison canteen was revoked due to the ongoing war in Gaza, along with other benefits that had been removed.

Justices Daphne Barak-Erez and Ofer Grosskopf wrote in their ruling that the state must ensure that every prisoner actually receives food adequate to maintain his health. Justice Noam Sohlberg Minz, however, dissented, stating that the state already fulfills this obligation under current conditions.

Justice Barak-Erez added in her reasoning that the plight of Israeli hostages in Gaza should not justify mistreating prisoners in Israel, noting: “We will not align ourselves with the worst of our enemies. We will not follow in the ways of terror organizations. Moreover, painful testimonies from freed captives have shown that a harsher food regime for prisoners in Israel does not improve the situation of our brothers still held hostage, and may even worsen it.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir blasted the ruling, declaring: “Judges of the High Court—are you on Israel’s side? Our hostages in Gaza have no High Court to protect them. But the Nukhba murderers and vile rapists have, shamefully, a High Court standing up for them. We will continue to provide these terrorists only the bare minimum conditions required by law.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Yariv Levin also denounced the decision: “We have become accustomed to High Court judges exceeding their judicial role and taking over the running of the state. Apparently, that wasn’t enough. Now they’ve crowned themselves judges in ‘Master Chef.’ The High Court judges, or in their new title—the Supreme Dieticians—have found a recipe unmatched in the world for distorted morality. While our hostages starve in tunnels, two judges demand that we improve the meals served to the worst of terrorists. This ruling is yet another clear example of the damage the Supreme Court inflicts on Israel’s security. That is why I have insisted on changing the Judicial Appointments Committee, and I will continue to demand that future appointments produce judges focused on the security of Israeli citizens and true justice—not on currying favor in progressive legal circles abroad.”

The “Choosing Life” Forum, representing bereaved families and victims of terror, also issued a sharp response: “Once again, the High Court chooses to side with terrorists instead of standing with our bereaved families and terror victims. The judges’ preoccupation with the meals of despicable murderers is a slap in the face to those who paid the highest price—families whose loved ones were slaughtered in cold blood. As bereaved families and victims of terror, we expect the High Court to focus on protecting Israel’s citizens, not on the culinary preferences of terrorist killers and the policies of the Prison Service.”

{Matzav.com}