Families get green light to visit Palestinian prisoners in Israel

Jul 17, 2020

According to a July 17 broadcast by the Kan radio station, this week the Israel Prison Service authorized family visits for Palestinian security prisoners. The IPS said that the decision was made jointly with the National Security Council and the visits will be coordinated with the Red Cross. The allowance only applies to family members residing in West Bank areas not significantly affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The IPS also explained that with many emergency regulations no longer in place, the family visits are a legal right that must be upheld.

The family visits are to take place according to Health Ministry instructions including “purple badge” requirements and guidelines on social distancing, masks and sanitation that also apply to government offices, hotels and other businesses.

The visits were suspended with the outbreak of the pandemic in Israel at the beginning of March, when the International Committee of the Red Cross told Palestinian families there would be no visits on that month. The situation dragged on as the pandemic swept the country. The prisoners protested the suspension of visits, but the IPS refused to resume the visits too soon.

On April 24, a group of UN human rights experts urged Israel to release vulnerable Palestinian prisoners. They wrote, “There are currently more than 4,520 Palestinian prisoners, including 183 children, 43 women and 700 detainees with pre-existing medical conditions in Israeli jails. They remain dangerously vulnerable in the context of the current pandemic and the relative increase in the number of transmission rates in Israel.” In parallel, Hamas reportedly submitted to Israel a list of 250 prisoners for immediate release. It included mainly infirm and elderly prisoners as well as women and young people. For the moment, no deal has been made between the sides for a prisoner release or exchange.

The IPS assured the National Security Council that the visits will be held under strict health and sanitary conditions. But with the spike in infections in both Israel and the West Bank, it is unclear whether the visits will continue. Israeli authorities have expressed concern in recent days about the growing number of cases in the West Bank, notably in the Hebron area.  

The situation of Palestinian workers in Israel is especially complicated. Some 46,000 laborers were authorized at the end of June to enter Israel for a period of three weeks, on the condition that they do not travel in the country, stay near the work site and don’t go home. The three weeks end this weekend, and the authorities are debating today whether to renew the permits. A decision is expected later today or early next week.