Lawyers for Israeli Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi of the Hadash-Ta’al Party accused Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of “racist policies” during a court hearing on Wednesday due to his opposition to Tibi meeting with jailed Palestinian terrorist leader Marwan Barghouti.
The accusations were made in a petition filed with Jerusalem’s Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, by Adalah-The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, whose lawyers acted on Tibi’s behalf.
Adalah filed the petition after Ben-Gvir’s office stonewalled a request by Tibi to meet with convicted terrorists Walid Deka—who has since died of cancer—and Barghouti, who commanded Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades during the Second Intifada and is serving five life terms.
Deka was serving a life sentence for his role in the kidnapping and murder of Israel Defense Forces soldier Moshe Tamam in 1984.
The petition requests an injunction prohibiting Ben-Gvir from preventing meetings between Knesset lawmakers and security prisoners. According to Adalah, coalition lawmakers and members of Ben-Gvir’s party have been allowed to visit Jewish prisoners without restrictions.
The petition also claimed that Tibi’s ability to meet with terrorists is “essential” and accuses Ben-Gvir of obstructing “effective parliamentary oversight of the conditions of confinement of Palestinian prisoners.”
During the hearing on Wednesday, Ben-Gvir reiterated his opposition to the meeting with Barghouti, noting that his position is supported by the Israel Prison Service, which falls under the authority of his ministry.
“It is sad that on the day we bury soldiers, we have to deal with a petition from a member of the Israeli Knesset, who receives money from our salaries, and he wants to meet and talk with his accomplice—Marwan Barghouti, a murderer, who has the blood of Jews on his hands,” said Ben-Gvir. “I decided that they couldn’t meet, and I stand behind this decision.”
Outside the courtroom, bereaved Israeli families assailed Adalah general director Hassan Jabareen with shouts of, “Shame! Terror supporters, go to Gaza and Syria!” Israel’s Arutz 7 reported.
In 2023, Ben-Gvir announced the cancelation of rules implemented by the previous government that allowed any MK to meet with imprisoned terrorists. Ben-Gvir said he had taken the step after “concluding that these visits resulted in incitement and the promotion of terrorist actions.”
The prison visitation policy then reverted to what it had previously been, with only a single legislator from each political party being permitted to meet with jailed terrorists, and only under “appropriate supervision.”
Hamas has reportedly demanded the release of Barghouti in the first phase of a proposed ceasefire agreement with Israel.
Since the terror group started its latest war against the Jewish state on Oct. 7, thousands of terrorists have been arrested. In March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed government bodies to prepare prisons for an influx of thousands more.
