For first time in five years, Palestinian security prisoners held in Rimon to receive family visits

Palestinians from Gaza Strip will visit relatives imprisoned in Israel for the first time in five years on Monday.

The visit to Ramon Prison is part of the agreement signed between the Israel Prisons Service and the Palestinian prisoners, with the aim of ending their hunger strike.

The IPS said that the visit was a pilot program and that if it proved successful, similar visits would take place in other prisons in Israel.

According to the deal, the IPS will then facilitate visits by security prisoners´ relatives on a regular basis.

Visitations of Palestinian security prisoners held in Israel were suspended in 2007 following the closure of Erez crossing.

The pilot program will see 24 prisoners receive visits, which were coordinated with the Red Cross.

The prisoners´ relatives will board a Red Cross bus in Gaza City and shuttled to the Erez crossing, where they will undergo a security check and continue on to Ramon Prison with police escort.

Once the visit concludes, the relatives will be shuttled back to Gaza on the same Red Cross bus. (Copyright 2012 © Yedioth Internet 07/16/12)