Detention figures
End of December 2023:

Security Prisoners

Adults: 8,171
Children: 137
Total: 8,308

Percentage held in Israel:

Adults: 74%
Children: 49%

Administrative Detention

Adults: 3,239
Children: 49
Total: 3,288

 
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Newsletter - May 2015

Detention figures – According to the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), as of 30 April 2015, there were 5,554 Palestinians (West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza) held as "security prisoners" in Israeli detention facilities including 164 children. In the case of children there was a 10 per cent decrease in the numbercompared with the previous month and an annual decrease of 8 per cent compared with 2014. According to the IPS, 52 per cent of Palestinian children and 91 per cent of adults continue to be detained in facilities inside Israel, in violation of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. A further 2,020 Palestinians were held in IPS detention as "criminal prisoners" including 18 children. Criminal offences include entering Israel without a permit, most frequently in pursuit of work. More statistics

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Dutch Foreign Minister makes statement to parliament on child detention - On 20 May 2015, the parliament of the Netherlands held a debate on “the situation in Israel and Gaza.” One of the topics discussed was the situation facing Palestinian children held in Israeli military detention. “The situation of Palestinian child prisoners is very worrisome. The impact on the Palestinian community is high, to some extent because of the nightly arrests. On some points we are making progress, and I also want to continue with that. There are for example some reforms that have our distinct attention. I also refer to the letter to the parliament from January last on this subject. The Dutch Human Rights ambassador has also visited Israel regarding this theme.” Read more

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Segregation is here, just look at Israel’s legal system - Although segregated buses provide a clear and obvious picture of discrimination, applying different laws to individuals living side by side may prove to have far greater legal, ethical and strategic consequences for Israel. On Wednesday, May 20, 2015, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced the freezing of a plan to segregate passengers on buses traveling in the West Bank based on their race or nationality, less than a day after the regulation came into effect. The chief architect of the plan, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, has made it clear that this is a temporary suspension and not a cancellation. Read more

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Testimony - On 18 May 2015, a 15-year-old youth from the Al Arrub refugee camp is arrested by Israeli soldiers at 2.00 a.m. “I was asleep when my mother walked into my bedroom with five Israeli soldiers. It was 2.00 a.m. The soldiers told me to accompany them to the living room. They told my father they were going to arrest me and interrogate me because I was accused of throwing stones. They gave my father a document which said they were going to take me to the police station in the settlement of Etzion. The soldiers wanted to drag me out of the house without allowing me to get dressed properly. Read more

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Is UNICEF lending its name to a public relations exercise? - The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recently issued an invitation to a roundtable in Jerusalem on 19 May 2015 to discuss – Minors in the Military Justice System in the West Bank: Developments and Challenges. UNICEF’s Special Representative in the State of Palestine will be giving opening remarks and according to the invitation the “event is organized in close cooperation with UNICEF”. All of the active participants in the roundtable with the exception of UNICEF are Israeli military and civilian officials, including residents of West Bank settlements. Read more

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The illusion of change in the West Bank military courts - In March 2013, UNICEF recommended that all children detained by the Israeli military in the West Bank must be given written information about their rights, including the right to silence and prompt access to a lawyer, at the time of arrest. This followed a finding by the UN agency that the ill-treatment of children detained in the system was “widespread, systematic and institutionalized.” In response, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that it would “study [the recommendations] and work to implement them through on-going cooperation with UNICEF.” Read more

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Australian Labor Party announces new travel requirements for MPs going to Israel – NSWLabor leader Luke Foley announced today that any Labor MPs receiving assisted travel to Israel would be expected to spend an equivalent time and the West Bank and/or Gaza to hear the case of the Palestinians. Labor believes in a two-state solution. A two-state solution must be built on understanding the perspective of two peoples. “This arrangement will mean MPs understand the Palestinian as well as the Israeli case,” Mr. Foley said. Read more
 

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs legal advice on settlements in occupied territory (1967) – “We must nevertheless be aware that the international community has not accepted our argument that the [West] Bank is not “normal” occupied territory and that certain countries (such as Britain in its speeches at the UN) have expressly stated that our status in the [West] Bank is that of an occupying state. In truth, even certain actions by Israel are inconsistent with the claim that the [West] Bank is not occupied territory. For example, Proclamation No. 3 of the IDF Forces Commander in the West Bank of 7.6.67, which brings into force the order concerning security regulations (in Section 35).” Read more