Center for the Defence of the Individual - Following HaMoked's intercession: the military agrees to issue a multiple entry permit for prison visits to a 34 year old Palestinian, the only family member who is allowed to visit his incarcerated brother
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חזרה לעמוד הקודם
02.01.2012

Following HaMoked's intercession: the military agrees to issue a multiple entry permit for prison visits to a 34 year old Palestinian, the only family member who is allowed to visit his incarcerated brother

The man's brother has been imprisoned inside Israel since 2007, serving a life sentence. Under military procedure, brothers under age 35 can visit their incarcerated sibling only once a year. Since the arrest in 2007, the man visited his brother in prison only twice, the last time in March 2011. The rest of the prisoner's family lives in the Gaza Strip and so cannot visit him at all, because in June 2007, Israel has banned all family visits from Gaza to prisoners held inside Israel.
 
The right to family visits in incarcerations facilities is a basic right of both the detainees and their families. The right is established by both Israeli and international law, and derives from the fact that man is a social being, who exists as part of a family and a community. Israel's ban on prison visits by Gaza families, coupled with the one visit per year limit which applies to his brother, make it extremely difficult for the prisoner to realize his right to have contact with his family.  
 
In July 2011, in an attempt to solve this difficulty, HaMoked requested the military to issue a one-year multiple-entry permit to the man, despite his age, to allow him to make frequent visits to his brother. True to form, the military did not respond, and so, on October 23, 2011, HaMoked petitioned the Court for Administrative Affairs. In its response, the military agreed on an ex gratia basis to issue the petitioner a multiple entry permit to Israel, valid for one year, in view of the unique circumstances of the man and his brother, the prisoner.
 
On December 18, 2012, the petitioner reapplied for a permit via the International Committee of the Red Cross. HaMoked kept the petition pending, until the permit arrives.