DayofPal— Israeli authorities have escalated the use of arbitrary administrative detention against Palestinians, as part of a widening campaign of mass arrests.
The news was reported by the Palestinian Prisoners and Freed Prisoners Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club.
In just 15 days, over 180 new administrative detention orders were issued, including three female prisoners: Suad Al-Khawaja (two months), former prisoner Abir Odeh (four months), and Malak Mar’i (four months).
As of early March, the total number of administrative detainees in Israeli prisons reached 3,442, including 20 women and dozens of children, accounting for over 36% of all Palestinian prisoners.
The organizations noted that this reflects an unprecedented expansion of administrative detention compared to other categories of prisoners, including those awaiting trial or serving sentences.
They highlighted that most detainees arrested since the outbreak of the war on Gaza have been directly placed under administrative detention, alongside arrests justified by alleged “incitement” on social media.
The statement described this escalation as part of a dangerous shift in policy, with some detainees held under continuous administrative detention for over three years.
Military courts were accused of systematically enforcing administrative detention through proceedings based on secret files, depriving detainees and their lawyers of evidence or a proper defense.
Appeals against administrative detention orders are overwhelmingly rejected, around 95% of cases fail, including at Israel’s Supreme Court.
Despite these challenges, the organizations continue to monitor administrative detention cases at the request of detainees and their families, noting the harsh treatment, torture, and severe restrictions on communication and visits imposed by prison authorities.
They renewed calls for a comprehensive national stance to gradually boycott Israeli military courts, particularly in administrative detention cases, citing the national and strategic implications related to the prisoners’ cause.
Two years ago, the United Nations also called for the dismantling of Israel’s military court system amid escalating arrests in the West Bank.
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