Red Cross confirms reduction in family visits for Palestinian prisoners

International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed news that it has reduced family visits for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails from two to one per month, Masralarabia.com reported yesterday.

The ICRC has been facilitating family visits for Palestinian prisoners since 1967, when Israel completed the occupation of Palestinian territories, Sinai and the Golan Heights.

“The reduction measures were taken due to the budget reduction and the need to save on costs of the buses moving the families to and from their sons inside the Israeli jails,” the ICRC said.

However, it said that these reductions did not include female prisoners, minors and prisoners from the Gaza Strip.

On Tuesday, about 200 Palestinians staged a protest in front of the ICRC headquarters in occupied Jerusalem, calling on the organisation to withdraw its decision.

Meanwhile, families of prisoners in Ramallah, Tulkarm, Hebron and Tubas also protested in front of the ICRC offices on Sunday and Monday.

For its part, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club (PPC) called for organising more protests against the ICRC measures across all Palestinian governorates.

Head of the PPC Amjad Al-Najjar said that the ICRC “oppressive” decision abolishes one of the prisoners’ rights which was gained after much sacrifices by the prisoners, including hunger strikes.

“This reduction serves only the Israeli occupation as it deprives the family members who get permits for a very limited period from visiting their imprisoned sons.”

According to the Military Court Watch, there were 7,896 Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails in April.