(Jerusalem) Israel is detaining more than 600 people without charge or trial, the highest since 2016, an Israeli human rights group revealed Monday.
Posted at 5:26 p.m.
The government of Israel says it uses so-called “administrative detentions” to prevent attacks and keep dangerous fighters in prison without having to reveal important classified information.
For their part, Palestinians and defense organizations denounce an illegal system that violates the right to a fair and equitable trial within a reasonable time. Some of those detained are said to be deprived of their liberty for months or even years, without any evidence being brought against them.
The Israeli organization HaMoked, which collects public data on people in detention, says that as of May, 604 people were in administrative detention. Almost all of these people are Palestinians, while administrative detention is very rarely used against Jews.
HaMoked counts 2,441 Palestinians who are serving prison sentences following convictions in a military court. In addition, 1,478 other detainees are deprived of their liberty for questioning, because they are awaiting trial or are currently on trial.
Israel has been the target of a series of attacks in recent weeks. These incidents resulted in at least 15 deaths. In response, the state carried out several operations in the occupied West Bank with the aim of making arrests to prevent further attacks. These military interventions provoked violent demonstrations and shootings.
At least 29 Palestinians were killed, according to a tally by The Associated Press. The majority of victims were killed after participating in attacks or during clashes with Israeli forces. However, an unarmed woman and two people who simply appeared to witness the scene were also killed.
Israel had not counted so many “administrative detainees” since October 2016, during a previous wave of violence that involved stabbings, shootings and vehicular attacks by Palestinians.
“Administrative detention is used only when the security forces have credible and solid information that the detained person poses a threat and there is no other way to counter this threat”, justified the Israeli army by press release.
Israel ensures that any administrative detention is subject to judicial review. Detainees can appeal to the military appeals court or the Supreme Court of Israel. However, advocacy organizations point out that the courts defer largely to security institutions.
For HaMoked director Jessica Montell, violence does not justify the detention without charge of hundreds of people for months or even years.
“It’s as if we had an administrative detention factory that goes far beyond what could be justifiable before an international tribunal,” she described. International law only allows preventive detention on rare occasions and for a limited period.
Among those detained, some might be dangerous fighters, but others might just be victims of mistaken identification. For example, a teenager with a rare neuromuscular disorder was held in administrative detention for over a year.
“We have no idea what they are suspected of and many of them have no idea what the allegations are against them because it’s all based on secret evidence,” Ms.me Montell.
Several Palestinians in administrative detention have gone on long hunger strikes to protest their captivity. Some of them then developed chronic illnesses. As a means of pressure, the “administrative” detainees and their lawyers have been boycotting the proceedings of the Israeli military tribunal since the beginning of the year. The courts must therefore hold their hearings without their presence, according to what revealed another Israeli human rights group, B’Tselem.
The West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation since the territory was taken over in the Six Day War in 1967. The Palestinians are claiming this territory as the main part of their eventual state.
The nearly three million residents of the Palestinian territory are subject to Israel’s military justice system, while the nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers who live among them hold Israeli citizenship and are subject to the civil courts.