Ultranationalist Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir restricts family visits for Palestinian prisoners

Hard-right Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has instructed the Israeli Prison Service to limit family visits for Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank in Israeli prisons to once every two months instead of once a month, according to a recent report by Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

The Israeli daily said the new directives are expected to go into effect as of next Sunday, the third of September.

The newspaper cited sources within the Israeli Security Agency stating that Ben-Gvir made this decision without coordinating with the security forces. This decision has sparked opposition from the Commissioner of the Prison Service, who warned Ben-Gvir about the consequences of his decision, the report said.

This decision coincides with another retaliatory decision announced by Ben-Gvir, which involves the cancellation of administrative release for sick and elderly prisoners whose sentences are nearing completion. Administrative release is often used by the Israel Prison Service to cope with overcrowding in prisons.  

These decisions are likely to intensify tensions and raise concerns about the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, especially under the current Israeli coalition government, considered the most extremist in the history of the Israeli occupation.