By Mark McMurray
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel — On Monday, a group of forty Palestinians were allowed to see their relatives in Ramon prison in southern Israel.  The visit marks the first time in five years Palestinians have been able to visit family members incarcerated in an Israeli prison.

Before sunrise, the group gathered outside the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City.  Joined by representatives of the organization, the group boarded a bus to the Erez border crossing with Israel.  The Red Cross, which helped make the trip possible, expressed hope that Monday’s visit marks the beginning of regular trips to Israeli prisons.  Juan Pedro Schaerer, head of the organization in Israel and the Palestinian territories, described the organization’s objective in a statement released on Monday.

“This is a first step and we hope that visits by residents of Gaza will resume in full,” he said.  “We have repeatedly called for the resumption of family visits, which are a lifeline for detainees and their families.  Under international humanitarian law, Israeli authorities have an obligation to allow the detainees to receive family visits.”

Twenty-four inmates met with family members on Monday.  One visitor, Fatima Nashbat, described her emotions prior to seeing her husband for first time in almost six years.

“I haven’t seen my husband or heard his voice or even news of him for years,” she said.  “I don’t know what the meeting will be like, but of course my excitement is indescribable and I can’t wait to see him.”

Sivan Weizman, spokesperson for Israel’s prison services, confirmed that  prison visits are expected to begin on a regular basis.  The next trip is scheduled to occur in two weeks.  Weizman described Monday’s trip as having been completed “without incident.”

In May, Israel agreed to allow prison visits to resume in order to reach a deal to end a mass hunger strike by Palestinian detainees earlier in the year.  Israel had put an end to family visits in 2007, in response to the militant Islamist group Hamas’ rise to power in Gaza.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Palestinians Visit Jailed Relatives in Israel – 16 July 2012

BBC News – First Gaza Families Visit Jailed Relatives in Israel – 16 July 2012

Mail & Guardian – Gaza allows Palestinian prisoners’ families to visit – 16 July 2012

YNet News – Gazans to Visit Palestinian Prisoners Held in Israel – 16 July 2012