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 - March 2020

Detention figures – According to the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), as of 31 March 2020 there were 4,488 Palestinians (West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza) held as “security prisoners” in detention facilities including 194 children (12-17 years). In the case of children there was a 3% decrease in the number compared with the previous month and an annual decrease of 3% compared with 2019. Two children are currently held in administrative detention. According to the IPS, 75% of child detainees were forcibly transferred and/or unlawfully detained in Israel in February in violation of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. More statistics 

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The UNICEF Report: 7 years on – In 2013 UNICEF published findings following a review of the treatment of children held in Israeli military detention. The report – Children in Israeli Military Detention – considered the treatment of children from arrest, transfer to interrogation centres, prosecution in military courts and ultimate incarceration. Following a review of over 400 affidavits, UNICEF concluded that “the ill-treatment of children who come in contact with [Israel’s] military detention system appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalized.” Read more

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US State Department: Human Rights Report (March 2020) – In March the US State Department published its annual country report on human rights for 2019. The Report is mandated by Congress and documents human rights conditions in nearly 200 countries and territories. Staff in US embassies around the world compile the information contained in the Report. As in previous years the Report highlights human rights violations by multiple actors in the region and considers the treatment of children held in Israeli military detention. The State Department again confirmed that Israel applies two legal systems in the West Bank depending on whether a person is Palestinian (military law), or an Israeli settler (civilian law). Read more

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A child’s testimony – On 3 March 2020, a 17-year-old minor from Silwad was arrested by Israeli soldiers at 2:00 a.m. He reports speaking to a lawyer via phone prior to interrogation but not being informed of his right to silence by the interrogator. “I woke up at around 2:00 a.m. to the sound of loud banging at our front door. I opened the door and six Israeli soldiers entered our home. I could see many more soldiers were outside. A soldier asked to check our identity cards and then the commander told me I was under arrest. He did not give me any documents or tell me why I was being arrested. He told me to get dressed and then I was taken away. Once outside the house I was handcuffed.” Read more

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A soldier’s video testimony: “Butt of a rifle in his face” – In this video a former Israeli soldier provides a testimony to Breaking the Silence describing how his commanding officer struck a Palestinian man in the face with his rifle as he approached a checkpoint with his permit. “Of course, no one, including me, thought of reporting the incident, that something wrong had happened, that the Palestinian didn’t do anything to deserve a rifle butt to the face. He didn’t even deserve to be slapped, he didn’t deserve to be yelled at … No one thought of investigating it. These are things that happen pretty regularly. I mean violence, slapping, punching, pushing, unnecessary arrest, unnecessary delays. Watch video

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756 Testimonies                                       Annual Report (2019)                                                Videos