Israel holds 540 Palestinians in administrative detention: Rights group

Sep 27, 2014

A Palestinian human rights organization says Israel is holding 540 Palestinians without trial, showing an increase in the number of these cases over the past six years.

The Ahrar Center for Prisoners Studies said on Friday that number of the Palestinians in Israel administrative detention is the highest since 2008.

According to the group, Israeli authorities have extended the detention of 70 prisoners in the past three weeks and transferred dozens more to administrative detention.

It says Israel has used the detention policy for scores of Palestinians arrested since June, following the disappearance and deaths of three young Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Ahrar says Israel “aims to remove as many Palestinian leaders and youths from society for as long as possible.”

Administrative detention is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charge that allows Israel to incarcerate Palestinians for up to six months. The detention order can be renewed for indefinite periods of time.

 

Video