Minister Friedmann – will committee order tough sanctions?
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Pressing Hamas: Ministers mull prison sanctions
Special ministerial committee convenes for first session, looks into possible sanctions against Hamas, Islamic Jihad prisoners; moves considered include reducing number of visits detainees currently entitled to
Israel to press Hamas: A ministerial committee tasked with looking into ways of adopting sanctions against Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners held its first meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Among other proposals, committee members raised the option of lowering the sums of money handed over to security prisoners, minimizing their exposure to television and radio, reducing the number of visits they are entitled to, preventing any physical contact with their visitors, and minimizing their educational opportunities.
The committee, headed by Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, also raised the possibility of limiting the goods transferred into the Gaza Strip, but not in a manner that would prompt a humanitarian crisis.
During the session, committee members were briefed on the various rights granted to security detainees in Israeli prisons. The committee then decided to establish a professional team headed by an attorney general representative that would work in conjunction with the Prison Service, Shin Bet, and IDF in order to minimize the privileges granted to Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners at this time.
The committee will conclude its discussions within two weeks, and during this time it would be able to order operative steps to be implemented immediately.
Earlier Wednesday, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel urged Minister Friedmann and Attorney General Mazuz to dissolve the special committee, and characterized any sanctions against Palestinian prisoners as "collective, unjust and illegal punishment."
