Today marks one year since the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) banned families from the Gaza Strip to visit prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons. Al Mezan condemns Israel's denial of those families right to visit prisoners, along with continued violations of prisoner's rights.

According to information available to Al Mezan, since 6 June 2008, the IOF halted the visiting program that manages family visits to prisoners in Israel. The program is sponsored and supervised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in coordination with Israeli authorities. Under its regulations, the program secured permits for the detainees' families, managed transportation, and facilitated access between the detainees and their families. The number of Palestinian and Arab prisoners in Israeli persons is approximately 11,000, spread out over 28 jails and detention facilities. Nine hundred of them are from the Gaza Strip. The prisoners suffer very difficult situations and degrading circumstances such as:

1. Prisoners and detainees are kept in inadequate detention facilities and jails that do not conform to international standards. Such places are lacking basic needed facilities and infrastructure where climatic conditions, lighting, and maintenance are inadequate, in addition to being overcrowded.
2. Prisoners are provided small, insufficient meals that are inadequate for their nutritional needs. The quality of food is low and is not varied, thus leading to health problems like anemia. This contradicts the international legal obligations regarding the treatment of prisoners which oblige the prison authorities to provide food with sufficient amount and quality to preserve the health of the prisoners.
3. Subjugating Palestinian prisoners to maltreatment, including arbitrary and violent searches during which guards assault prisoners by beating, using tear gas or live bullets. Prisoners are subjected to arbitrary solitary confinement. Guards frequently confiscate prisoners' personal belongings.
4. Prisons lack minimally adequate health services, including primary care facilities and medicines that can meet the immediate needs of prisoners.

On a related note, the Israeli authorities told Noura Al Hashlamoun, a Palestinian prisoner and mother of three, to choose between accepting deportation outside the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) with her children, or to remain in prison without indictment. This decision constitutes a clear violation of the minimum standards of fair trial as determined by international law.

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights emphasizes the right of prisoners to have contact with the world outside prison, including family visitations. The Center calls on the International Committee of the Red Cross to exert pressure on Israel to ensure that Palestinian prisoners enjoy this right. ICRC is also called to ensure that distant relatives (second and third of kin) are allowed to visit the prisoners. Family visits must be allowed to take place regularly and under humane conditions. In particular, family members must be protected from humiliation at check points, as was the case before the IOF prevented prisoners' visits a year ago.

Furthermore, Al Mezan calls on the international community to exert pressure on Israel to ensure that it upholds its international obligations concerning the rights of Palestinian prisoners in its custody, including their right to family visitation. Israel must observe its compliance with the obligations relevant to the treatment of prisoners under international law.