(VOVworld) - The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) has drafted a set of punitive measures against Palestinian prisoners following a cabinet decision to reduce their imprisonment conditions on Thursday.

Palestinians mark Prisoner Day in Ramallah, April 17 Photo: REUTERS

The punitive measures include cutting the prisoners' TV privileges and removing television sets from inmates' cells, prohibiting access to the prison commissaries and canceling the distribution of newspapers in prison. In addition, visiting times will be decreased and several prisoners will be barred from family visits. An IPS official said the list of sanctions will be submitted to the Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich who will have the final decision.

The decision was made after Israel accused the Islamic Hamas movement of being connected with the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers on Thursday. The Israeli cabinet announced its resolve to "strike a blow" to Hamas, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday was the culprit behind the attack. There are 5,300 Palestinian security prisoners held in Israeli prisons, 1,000 of them affiliated with Hamas.