On the second anniversary of Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip (27 December 2008-18 January 2009), Addameer reiterates its unequivocal condemnation of the Israeli policy that has denied residents from Gaza detained in Israeli prisons family visits for over three years.

 

In June 2007, as part of its policy of treating the Gaza Strip as an enemy entity following the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, Israel implemented a total prohibition on family visits to prisoners from Gaza. In addition, starting in November 2009, Israel has effectively prevented these prisoners from receiving money from their families to buy basic necessities by requiring that transfers of money be conditional on the physical presence of a family member at an Israeli bank-an impossibility for families residing in the Gaza Strip.

 

As a result, the 686 Palestinians from Gaza currently detained in Israeli prisons are completely isolated from the outside world. They are largely unaware of the major events taking place in the lives of their families, including the deaths of close relatives. Similarly, their relatives are kept in the dark about their general detention and health conditions. These prisoners’ access to basic necessities is also severely limited since such supplies are usually brought by family members during visits or purchased by prisoners from the prison canteen with funds transferred from their families.

 

Israel’s policy has been condemned, among others, by Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict in its report on the 2008-2009 Israeli offensive. On 9 December 2009, however, the Israeli High Court of Justice ruled against two petitions filed by Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations in 2008 protesting the legality of the ban on family visits. The court held that the right to family visits in prison is not within the “framework of the basic humanitarian needs of the residents of the Strip, which Israel is obligated to enable”.

 

Addameer continues to contend that this ruling contravenes international law protecting detainees’ rights. The right to family visits is an entrenched right in international law, expressly provided for in the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, the European Prison Rules, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and, in relation to child detainees, the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention obliges an Occupying Power to protect, inter alia, family rights. Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Israel is a party, the family is recognized as “the natural and fundamental group unit of society” and should be accorded the widest protection possible.

 

Moreover, Addameer submits that the absolute prohibition on family visits is designed to demoralize and punish prisoners’ families, and by extension the general population in Gaza, for their political choices in 2006, making the policy a clear case of collective punishment, a war crime for which Israel should be held responsible.

 

Israel, and particularly the Israeli Prison Service, should immediately allow family visits and phone communication to Gazan prisoners in accordance with its legal obligations. Addameer rejects any alternative solution to the complete reinstatement of family visits, such as allowing prisoners to make teleconference calls with their families, as proposed by Israel to the ICRC.

 

Addameer therefore calls on the members of the international community, particularly UN Member States and relevant UN bodies and agencies to:

For more information on the High Court of Justice’s 2009 decision, see Addameer’s response. For more information about Addameer’s work on behalf of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention, please visit our website www.addameer.info , or contact us directly:

 

Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association

P. O. Box: 17338, Jerusalem

Tel: +972 (0)2 296 0446 / 297 0136

Fax: +972 (0)2 296 0447

Email: info@addameer.ps

Website: www.addameer.info