The
number of Palestinians in Israeli occupation jails has soared since October 7,
according to a leading Palestinian human rights group, a surge that it says is
driven by a wave of arrests in the
occupied West Bank.
اضافة اعلان
About
7,800 Palestinians from the
West Bank were being held in Israeli prisons at the
end of November, an increase of nearly 50 percent since the war in the Gaza
Strip started, according to the rights group, the
Palestinian Prisoners Club.
It
said last week that number represented the most Palestinian detainees held at
one time in Israel in at least 14 years.
The
Israeli military has been carrying out near-nightly raids across the occupied West
Bank since the start of the war in what Israeli officials have described as
counterterrorism operations and an extension of their war against Hamas in
Gaza.
Palestinian
residents and community leaders have said the raids, which were not uncommon
before the war, have become more aggressive and more frequent since
Oct. 7.
Israel has said that the arrests in the West Bank have targeted people
affiliated with Hamas but has offered few details.
Many
detainees are being held without charge or trial, a status known as
administrative detention. The use of administrative detention orders had hit a
30-year high even before Oct. 7, human rights groups say.
Palestinian
prisoner rights groups have said that detainees in Israeli prisons face
overcrowded conditions, physical violence, and a lack of medical care. Asked
about those claims, the Israel Prison Service did not respond directly but said
it had imposed tighter restrictions in recent weeks “in connection with the war
effort.”
Ahmad
Salaymeh, 14, was released from Israeli detention last month as part of the
exchange of prisoners for captives held in Gaza. Salaymeh was detained in July
on accusations of throwing stones but never charged, according to an Israeli
occupation database. He said the conditions in prison worsened after Oct. 7 as
more detainees were brought in.
“Some
of us were left to sleep on the floors,” he said, adding that he was beaten in
custody and was given little to eat. By the time Ahmad came home, four months
after he was detained, he had lost 35 pounds, his father, Nawaf, said in a
recent interview.
In
a response to questions from The New York Times, the Israel Prison Service said
that it was unaware of Ahmad’s claims. It said that all minors had been
“imprisoned according to court orders, after being charged with serious crimes
of various kinds, among them attempted murder, assault and throwing
explosives,” and that “all basic rights required by law are fully applied.”
Read more Region and World
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
