Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Jails… Gaza Raises the Number and Intensifies the Suffering
Thousands of Palestinians languish in Israeli prisons, where human rights organizations say they face difficult detention conditions.
Israel holds more than 9,000 Palestinians in its prisons, the highest number in over a decade.
The number of Palestinians in Israeli prisons has increased since the attack launched by Hamas on October 7, followed by ongoing Israeli warfare in Gaza for 175 consecutive days.
In Gaza, Israeli forces have arrested hundreds of people in search of Hamas fighters, according to the Israeli army.
Meanwhile, widespread arrest campaigns have taken place in various cities in the West Bank.
However, human rights groups say that arrests are often arbitrary and that the conditions in which Palestinians are held can be inhumane, with the high number of reported deaths being concerning.
Israel claims that its detention conditions adhere to international standards.
Palestinian prisoners are at the heart of one of the most significant issues in ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, where Hamas has set them as a condition for a ceasefire and the exchange of remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza.
As of this month, there are estimated to be 200 minors and 68 women in Israeli prisons, according to Qadura Fares, head of the Prisoners and Liberated Affairs Committee based in Ramallah.
Who are the detainees?
According to Hamoked, an Israeli human rights organization, over 9,000 Palestinians are currently held in prisons.
According to Hamoked, over 3,500 detained Palestinians are held without formal charges.
This practice, known as administrative detention, was in place before the war in Gaza, but Israel intensified its use thereafter.
Before October 7, there were about 1,300 Palestinian administrative detainees held in Israel, according to data provided by the Israeli prison service to Hamoked.
Where are they detained?
Detained Palestinians are generally divided into two groups. Those from the West Bank are transferred to the prison system managed by a civilian authority in Israel, overseen by Itamar Ben-Gvir, an extreme right-wing Minister of Homeland Security.
Hundreds of Gaza residents have been sent to at least three detention facilities run by the Israeli army, according to Israeli officials.
Among these prisoners are hundreds arrested during the October 7 attack, as well as many others arrested in Gaza during the war.
Images of such incidents on the battlefield, where blindfolded and handcuffed men are often seen, have sparked international outrage.
The Sedot Tiyman military base is the closest known military detention site to Gaza, located about 18 miles from the border.
Information about the base is scarce, and prisoners there are isolated from the outside world, according to Tal Steiner, who heads the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, a human rights group.
“Violations”
Human rights groups, UNRWA, and external experts mandated by the United Nations are examining allegations of violations inside Israeli facilities.
An unpublished investigation conducted by the main UN agency for Palestinian refugees accuses Israel of mistreating hundreds of Gaza residents arrested during the war, according to a version of the report reviewed by the New York Times.
UNRWA researchers collected testimonies from released detainees claiming they were beaten, stripped, robbed, blinded, sexually assaulted, and deprived of contact with lawyers and doctors.
The report concludes that such treatment “was used to extract information or confessions, to intimidate, humiliate, and punish.”
