The Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, decided to tighten restrictions on the visits of Arab members of the Knesset (Parliament) to Palestinian prisoners, following the sanctions imposed by the occupation on the Palestinian Authority and the withdrawal of benefits from some officials.
The official Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that Ben Gvir informed Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to cancel the mechanism by which any Knesset member can visit the prisoners.
According to the broadcaster, Ben Gvir mentioned in his letter to the Speaker of the Knesset, "I believe that the meetings of Knesset members with security prisoners aim to give impetus to these prisoners, and may lead to incitement and promotion of terrorist propaganda."
The ultra-Orthodox minister, head of the "Jewish Greatness" party, concluded his message by saying, "It is time to stop pampering terrorists. I will not allow visits to support and incite terrorism during my shift."
previous decisions
In 2016, former Minister of Internal Security Gilad Erdan decided to limit the visit of Palestinian prisoners to one Knesset member from each political party. However, during the previous government, his successor Omer Bar Lev decided to change the procedure and allow each Knesset member to visit Palestinian prisoners, according to the private Israeli Channel 12.
From time to time, Arab Knesset representatives visit Palestinian prisoners to find out about their conditions, especially those who have declared a hunger strike.
In the current Knesset, 10 Arab representatives represent the Democratic and Arab Front for Change coalition led by Tibi and the United Arab List headed by Mansour Abbas.
Last Friday, Ben Gvir visited Nafha prison (south) for the first time, threatening to impose measures to ensure that the conditions of Palestinian prisoners do not improve.
At the time, Ben Gvir said in a tweet on Twitter that he was proceeding with his plan towards adopting a law imposing the death penalty on prisoners accused of killing or attempting to kill Israelis.
He added, "I visited Nafha prison after building new cells, to make sure that those who killed Jews would not get better conditions than the existing ones."
By the end of 2022, the report of the Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Institutions stated that the number of prisoners still in prison reached 4,700, including 29 female prisoners, 150 boys and girls, approximately 850 administrative detainees, 15 journalists, and 5 deputies in the Palestinian Legislative Council.
Ben Gvir caused widespread international criticism of Israel after his storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque last Tuesday.
penalties against authority
In the context, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued a decision to cancel the entry permits of 3 leaders of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) after they visited Karim Younis, the Palestinian prisoner who was released after 40 years spent in the occupation prisons.
The leaders of the Fatah movement - Mahmoud Al-Aloul, Azzam Al-Ahmad and Rawhi Fattouh - met with the released prisoner Karim Younes - who is from the town of Ara inside the Green Line - after his release last Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today, Sunday, that Israel withdrew the "VIP" card - which allows freedom of movement - from Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki, in implementation of its decision to impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority.
The statement quoted Ahmed Al-Deek, political advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as saying that the implementation of this arbitrary measure is a flagrant violation of international law and the agreements and understandings signed between the Israeli and Palestinian sides.
And the day before yesterday, Friday, the Israeli government approved sanctions against the Palestinians following their movement in the United Nations institutions, including the deduction of tens of millions of dollars from clearing funds, which are the taxes that Tel Aviv collects at the crossings on behalf of the Authority.