Palestinian prisoners in Israel jails refuse meals in protest at reduction in visitation rights

People protest against Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s restriction of family visits to Palestinian prisoners in front of International Committee of the Red Cross building in Gaza City, Gaza on September 03, 2023 [Mustafa Hassona – Anadolu Agency]

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Ofer jail closed the prison sections and refused meals on Sunday evening.

The protest step came after the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) proceeded to transfer 120 Palestinian prisoners from Nafha prison to a collective isolation section, the Commission for Detainees’ and ex-Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said in a joint statement.

The measure came as Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered the reduction in family visits to Palestinian prisoners from the occupied West Bank to once every two months instead of once a month.

As a protest, the Supreme National Emergency Committee of the National Captive Movement announced that Palestinian prisoners will go on a hunger strike on Thursday 14 September.

The Committee affirmed that transferring the prisoners is part of the oppressive measures taken by the IPS against the prisoners, warning that the repeated assaults against prisoners would cause the situation to escalate.

READ: Jerusalem: 3 Palestinians killed and 132 detained in August

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