Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has instructed prison authorities to limit family visits for Palestinian prisoners imprisoned in Israeli jails from once a month to once every two months.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, on Friday, September 1, Ben Gvir wrote, “The Prison Service must strictly adhere to the legal requirement of family visits for security prisoners every two months. As soon as I became aware of this situation, I immediately instructed compliance with the law.”
According to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, the country’s security agencies were not consulted before the directive was issued.
The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement on Friday afternoon calling the move “fake news” and saying no action would be taken until the prime minister conducts a special security assessment on the issue next week, according to a report by The Times of Israel.
In response to Ben Gvir’s announcement, the Palestinian prisoners announced that they would begin a hunger strike, starting on Thursday, September 14.
The decision is expected to affect at least 1,600 prisoners out of the 5,000 who can be visited.
This decision coincides with another retaliatory decision announced by Ben Gvir, which includes the cancellation of administrative release for sick and elderly prisoners whose sentences are near completion.
Ben Gvir had previously carried out retaliatory measures against the prisoners, including depriving them of fresh bread and food and many of the modest rights they had achieved in their struggles, as well as suppressing their protests and constantly dispersing them between prisons, and practising a policy of repression and torture against them.
