Yet another way that hatred for Israel breeds every day in Gaza

The longer of prisoner’s families in Gaza is like torture with Israel illegally refusing to allow regular visits:

Umm Faris Baroud of Shati refugee camp in western Gaza City wakes up early every Monday in the hope that she will be allowed to visit her son Faris, serving a life sentence in one of Israel’s prisons.

With poor knees and a stooped back, Umm Faris, aged 88, moved slowly as she welcomed us to her modest home.

“For the past two and a half years I have been able to visit Faris,” she explained. “Every Monday, I participate in a weekly protest along with many other families including mothers, wives and children of detainees, at the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC]. We demand a fair right: seeing our beloved children.”

On her way to the ICRC office, located about two kilometers from Shati refugee camp, Umm Faris was joined by her neighbor Umm Mahmoud al-Rayis, who is also waiting to see her son Mahmoud, also sentenced for life.

Israeli authorities have not given a specific justification for their decision to deny Gaza families permission for prison visits, according to the ICRC spokesman, though he stressed that it was a humanitarian matter.

Palestinian human rights groups have demanded all relevant parties — particularly foreign states — to pressure the Israeli government to abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law (IHL), particularly the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel violates IHL by transferring detainees from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip to prisons inside Israel, and Palestinian detainees are subjected to substandard conditions and inhuman treatment and torture.

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

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