Palestinian women in Israeli prisons win right to make phone calls, but family visits restricted

Palestinian women detained in Israeli jails have won the right to make phone calls to families, Palestinian media announced on Sunday, although visits from family members have been restricted.

The women prisoners had been staging a protest inside jail to earn their right to contact relatives.

Over 4,000 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, including over 34 women and 160 minors, and are granted limited, if any, contact with the outside world.

Israel has also used the pandemic to impose further restrictions on visitations to prisoners. On Sunday, Israeli authorities turned away the families of detainees on the grounds that they had not all received a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Human rights monitors have repeatedly denounced the conditions in which Palestinian prisoners are held by Israeli authorities. 

Prisoners regularly organise protests, including hunger strikes, to demand better treatment and basic rights. Women prisoners have notably complained about various forms of abuse by prison staff, including beatings.

Over 200 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli prisons since 1967, many from medical neglect. Last month, one Palestinian with a chronic heart condition died after spending a decade in Israeli prisons, when he was deprived of family visits. 

Palestinian organisations recorded the detention of more than 400 Palestinians in November alone, including over 60 minors.