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 - October 2019

Detention figures – According to the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), as of 31 October 2019 there were 4,731 Palestinians (West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza) held as “security prisoners” in detention facilities including 185 children (12-17 years). In the case of children there was a 2% decrease in the number compared with the previous month and an annual decrease of 25% compared with 2018. Three children are currently held in administrative detention. According to the IPS, 59% of child detainees were forcibly transferred and/or unlawfully detained in Israel in October in violation of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. More statistics 

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Access to lawyers: update – Under Israeli military law a suspect has the right to consult a lawyer before interrogation (exceptions apply). Recent evidence indicates 69% of children are denied this right. In the 31% of cases where the child had access to a lawyer only one child met the lawyer in person, in all other cases the consultation was by phone. In phone consultation cases, all calls lasted less than two minutes, and 64% of calls lasted less than one minute. In 67% of cases the interrogator remained in the room during the consultation and in some cases the call was on speaker phone. In 13% of cases the child suspected the “lawyer” to be a collaborator.

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New military order – Following a Supreme Court petition filed in 2017, the Israeli military commander in the West Bank has issued a new military order giving military judges the discretion to require the production of social welfare reports at remand hearings for Palestinian children. The purpose of these reports is to assist the court in deciding whether or not to release a child on bail, and under what conditions. The petition sought to address a fundamental shortcoming in the military courts whereby the majority of Palestinian children are denied bail. Military Order 1818 came into effect on 10 October 2019. Read more

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1% of Palestinians in the West Bank involved in violence says outgoing commander – “When asked about the most important thing he learned in the past two years, Niv pulls out a graph that he distributed to the units under his command. He estimates that only about 1% of the Palestinians are involved in violence against Israeli targets. When people who are usually deterred take part in violence, tensions rise. When it filters down to the rest of the population, we get widespread escalation. He is cautious, when answering questions about the coordination with the P.A. The reason is obvious: Overt Israeli praise would paint the P.A. as collaborators.” Haaretz

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A child’s testimony – On 28 October 2019, a 14-year-old minor from Al 'Arrub refugee camp was arrested by Israeli soldiers at 3:00 a.m. He reports being interrogated twice and consulting with a lawyer prior to interrogation but not being informed of his right to silence on both occasions. “I was asleep when I woke up to the sound of Israeli soldiers banging on our back door at around 3:00 a.m. My father opened the door while I remained in bed. Shortly afterwards my father came to my bedroom and told me that the soldiers were looking for me. I quickly got dressed and said goodbye to my family.” Read more

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A soldier’s video testimony: “Plundering” – In this video a former Israeli soldier provides a testimony to Breaking the Silence describing how some soldiers take items from Palestinian homes. “I remember during one of our first missions we took part in going from house to house. On the way out I met with a friend who was in the battalion’s headquarters, and he showed me some cell phones and watches that he had taken from houses. In other words, the residents fled and left all their belongings. He was a close friend of mine so he felt comfortable telling me and showing me all that, and that’s how I knew that there was, well … looting.” Video

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733 Testimonies                                      Annual Report (2019)                                               Videos