Palestinian families prohibited from visiting Israeli-jailed relatives

Date: 25 / 04 / 2009 Time: 10:27

[Ma'anImages]

Tulkarem – Ma’an – Palestinian families with sons and daughters in Israeli prisons are prohibited from visits following an Israeli order intended to punish relatives after damage to one prison facility was discovered, sources in the Red Cross said Saturday.

The International Red Cross Committee in Tulkarem said in a statement that they received the directive Friday afternoon and delivered the directive to prisoners’ families. The order applies to all families wishing to visit prisoners at the Negev Desert prison and Ofer detention center in Israel.

The order was first handed down to Tulkarem-area families and then extended to all West Bank Palestinians.

The statement explained that families were to be denied visits as a punishment for damage done to the facility following previous visits.


***Updated 10:34 Bethlehem time