B’Tselem, the group devoted to “documenting human rights violations that come under Israel’s purview as the occupying power” in Judea and Samaria on Sunday issued a special report saying the families of Arab terrorists in Israeli security prisons often face “an arduous journey” when they visit their murderous relatives.
“Every visit to prison involves an entire day of arduous travel and physical and emotional hardship – especially for elderly relatives and children,” said B’Tselem, and accused Israel of taking no part in facilitating these prison visits – leaving the task of organizing the entirely in the hands of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
B’Tselem added that Israel has been imposing “numerous restrictions on family visits to prison – including who may visit and how often.”
One would think these restrictions should be a prerequisite requirement when it comes to prisoners with blood on their hands who are connected to terrorist networks outside the prison walls.
According to B’Tselem, these restrictions are applied both to prisons within Israel’s green line border as well as to Ofer Prison, which is in the liberated territories.
The report also complained that “Israel allows only first-degree relatives to visit their loved ones in prison, and even that is subject to the permits it issues, and only as part of scheduled visit days on which the ICRC organizes transportation.”
And all those poor prisoners did was murder civilian men, women, and children – how dare those Israelis limit their visits so brazenly?
“The visit itself lasts only 45 minutes,” according to B’Tselem, “during which the family members talk to their loved ones through a phone receiver from behind a glass screen. Visitors may give the prisoners only specific items of clothing permitted under prison regulations, and these are inspected before being handed to the prisoner.”
It’s like Auschwitz, I’m telling you, Auschwitz…
According to NGO Monitor, In 2018, B’Tselem’s total income was 9.8 million shekel ($2,860,000).
B’Tselem received 41,167,995 shekel ($12,012,628) from foreign governmental bodies between 2012-2018.
Its donors between 2012-2019 included: European Union, Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat (joint funding from Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark and the Netherlands), Norway, the Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, DanChurchAid (Denmark), Trocaire (Ireland), Catholic Relief Services (US), Christian Aid Ireland, Diakonia (Sweden), Bread for the World- EED (Germany), ZIVIK (Germany), the Ford Foundation, the New Israel Fund, UNICEF, and UNDP.