Following a petition filed by HaMoked, the State announced that family visits to prisons in Israel and to the Ofer prison would be renewed: The petition was filed in light of the military's policy which automatically cancels prison visits once a full closure of the Territories is announced. HaMoked is following implementation of the directive and awaits the State's response on the issue of principle

On 3 October 2005, HaMoked - Center for the Defence of the Individual petitioned the High Court of Justice (HCJ) regarding the denial of the right to family visits by residents of the Territories in prisons in light of the full closure of the Territories during the Jewish high holidays. Whenever a full closure of the Territories is announced, the military automatically prevents residents of the Territories from visiting their relatives who are imprisoned in facilities inside Israel and in the Ofer facility. HaMoked claims that applying the full closure to prison visits lacks purpose since the visitors do not enter Israel individually and freely but arrive in the prisons in organized shuttles, escorted by security forces. The Ofer prison is not located inside Israel at all.  Considering the many difficulties which characterize the prison visit arrangement to begin with, the prevention in the context of a closure is yet another severe breach of the right to family life of the prisoners held inside Israel and their relatives. 

On 11 October, following the petition, the State notified HaMoked that visits would be renewed. In light of this response, the parties submitted a joint notice to the Court, in which the State pledged to address the other issues raised in the petition – the State's practice of canceling prison visits whenever a full closure of the Territories is announced without discretion and no the fact that no solution for the hundreds of relatives who received 45-day single-use permits to visit the prisons and could not use them because of the closure. 

To view the petition (Hebrew)