Israel bans families of deported Palestinian prisoners from travelling

Ramallah, Nov 12 Israeli authorities are preventing dozens of families of Palestinian prisoners deported to Egypt from travelling from the West Bank, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, Abdullah al-Zaghari, said Wednesday.

Describing the Israeli move as "a systematic policy of collective punishment," Al-Zaghari said some of the prisoners are suffering from severe health conditions and are in dire need of continuous medical care and the presence of their families, Xinhua News Agency reported.

He urged relevant parties to stop the Israeli move, noting that several issues related to the deportees' fate remain unclear, including the possibility of their resettlement in other countries.

Israel deported 383 prisoners to Egypt this year as part of its prisoner-hostage exchange deal with Hamas, and most have remained there since their release, al-Zaghari said in a press statement.

Israel required that Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis must be permanently deported if released under the Gaza ceasefire agreement, and will not be allowed to return to their homes in the occupied West Bank.

So far, Israeli authorities have not commented on the alleged ban.

--IANS

int/dan

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