Israel imposing ‘collective punishment’ on Jenin

Israeli occupation authorities announced yesterday that Palestinian prisoners from Jenin would not be allowed family visits, in what rights groups have said is a form of collective punishment, Arab48 reported.

The Prisoners Information Centre said that the occupation decided to prevent Palestinian prisoners from Jenin from meeting their families allegedly for “security reasons”. This comes, Israeli media said, as part of the occupation’s siege of the Palestinian city, pointing to restrictions imposed by Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz on Saturday evening.

The restrictions included a ban on Palestinian citizens of Israel from moving in and out of Jenin, a ban on Palestinian traders from the occupied West Bank entering Israel and the reinforcement of “strict security measures” on Palestinian workers entering Israel.

The Times of Israel reported yesterday that Chief of the Israeli Army, Aviv Kohavi, instructed the occupation forces to expand and increase offensive operations in the West Bank, especially in the northern towns, including Jenin.

In a report, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club considered the Israeli measures a form of “collective punishment” against the Palestinian residents of Jenin.

Since the start of 2022, the Israeli occupation forces have detained 200 Palestinians from Jenin, including 100 in March alone.

READ: The collaborators and normalisers with Israel have been unmasked in the heart of the nation