Israel halts family visits for Gaza prisoners

The Palestinian Ministry for Prisoners’ Affairs has revealed that Israel has stopped family visits for Palestinians from Gaza who are being held in Israeli jails.

“Those visits which were restarted after the hunger strike have now been stopped,” said a ministry statement. Israel is holding 444 prisoners from Gaza in various jails around the country. The Israeli Prison Service responded by saying that the visits were agreed for a trial period “which has now ended”.

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According to Alaa abu-Jazar, the representative of prisoners in Nafha Prison, his colleagues are planning an escalation of protests if the visits are not resumed. “Further procrastination,” he said, “will push us towards a new hunger strike.”