Netanyahu Looks to Toughen Conditions for Palestinian Detainees
Local Editor
"Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering introducing a bill that would impose sanctions on Palestinian security detainees held in "Israeli" jails, in an effort to pressure Hamas to approve a prisoner-exchange deal, reported the "Israeli" daily Haaretz.
The "Israeli" Ministerial Committee for Legislation, meanwhile, is expected to discuss on Sunday a private member's bill on that issue, which was pulled from the legislative agenda several months ago on Netanyahu's request. The idea is to make the conditions for the Palestinian detainees similar to those of captured "Israeli" occupation soldier Gilad Shalit.
In the introduction to his bill, MK Danny Danon (Likud) wrote that the legislation sought to "fix the absurd situation in which terror organizations abduct "Israeli" citizens as bargaining chips, totally depriving them of visits, while members of the same terror organizations who are imprisoned in "Israel" are permitted to receive visitors."
The MKs behind the bill pulled it on the request of the "Israeli" Prime Minister's Bureau, who said they wanted to give the German mediator in the exchange talks with Hamas a chance to complete his mission.
Last week, with the start of the new Knesset session, Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser told the MKs that they could reintroduce their bill, but asked them to wait for about two weeks for the government to develop a position on the issue and consider introducing its own bill.
Shalit has not received visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross or from his family since his capture nearly four years ago. Danon's bill would end all visits to Palestinian security detainees, with the exception of their attorneys and one visit every three months from the ICRC.
"Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering introducing a bill that would impose sanctions on Palestinian security detainees held in "Israeli" jails, in an effort to pressure Hamas to approve a prisoner-exchange deal, reported the "Israeli" daily Haaretz.
The "Israeli" Ministerial Committee for Legislation, meanwhile, is expected to discuss on Sunday a private member's bill on that issue, which was pulled from the legislative agenda several months ago on Netanyahu's request. The idea is to make the conditions for the Palestinian detainees similar to those of captured "Israeli" occupation soldier Gilad Shalit.
In the introduction to his bill, MK Danny Danon (Likud) wrote that the legislation sought to "fix the absurd situation in which terror organizations abduct "Israeli" citizens as bargaining chips, totally depriving them of visits, while members of the same terror organizations who are imprisoned in "Israel" are permitted to receive visitors."
The MKs behind the bill pulled it on the request of the "Israeli" Prime Minister's Bureau, who said they wanted to give the German mediator in the exchange talks with Hamas a chance to complete his mission.
Last week, with the start of the new Knesset session, Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser told the MKs that they could reintroduce their bill, but asked them to wait for about two weeks for the government to develop a position on the issue and consider introducing its own bill.
Shalit has not received visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross or from his family since his capture nearly four years ago. Danon's bill would end all visits to Palestinian security detainees, with the exception of their attorneys and one visit every three months from the ICRC.
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