79 GAZANS VISIT THEIR JAILED SON IN “RAYMOND”

Gaza, 6 Ramadhan 1436/23 June 2015 (MINA) – Israeli occupation authorities allowed on Monday, 79 of detainees’ families to visit their sons in “Raymond” jail, via Beit Hanoun, Erez crossing north of Gaza.

The spokesperson of the International committee of Red Cross (ICRC) Amani Al Naooq said that 79 of prisoners’ families including 21 children under the age of 14 headed Raymond jail to visit 43 Palestinian detainees.

The families visit coincides with a permanent sit-in of prisoners’ families in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in front of Red Cross quarters, calling to release their jailed sons, Al-Ray Palestinian Media Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The ICRC “Family Visits Program” for Gazans was suspended by Israeli authorities in June 2007 when Hamas came to power in the coastal enclave.

All communication between Gazan prisoners and the outside world was effectively cut off, human rights group Addameer reported, and during a Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike in April 2012, one of the prisoners’ key demands was that the program be reinstated.

Israel agreed to resume the visits on the conclusion of the hunger strike, although Addameer has reported that not all Gazan prisoners have been allowed to receive visitors.

There were 376 Gazans in Israeli jails as of February 2015, according to Addameer.(T/R05/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)