Friday, October 7, 2011

Detainee's mother dies in Gaza

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The mother of a Palestinian detainee died in Gaza on Thursday without seeing her jailed son, a prisoners' center reported.

Hajjeh Aminah al-Khatib's son Omran was detained in 1997 and sentenced to life in an Israeli jail.

Israel banned families in Gaza from visiting detained relatives in 2007. The ban was imposed after militants in Gaza detained Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

In June, the International Committee of the Red Cross called on Israel to lift the ban, noting that under international humanitarian law, detainees held in relation to the conflict had a right to family visits.

"The decision by the Israelis is of particular consequence for children, whose ties to their detained parents may become frayed or may even be severed," ICRC said in a statement.

Between June 2007 and June 2011, more than 30 relatives of detainees died without being able to bid farewell to their loved ones, ICRC reported.