The Palestinian Ministry of Detainees and Freed Detainees, reported on Sunday that Israeli soldiers arrested 3495 residents in 2005, from several Palestinians areas; 1600 of them remained in custody.
An Annual report of the ministry revealed that Israeli soldiers 96.3% of the arrestees are from the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Arab residents of Israel, while 3.7% of them were arrested in Gaza.
Also, hundreds of residents, and students were detained for several hours or days after being stopped at military roadblocks.
Abdul-Nasser Farwana, head of the statistics department at the ministry said that soldiers arrested children, men and women regardless of age, and arrested pregnant women.
400 Palestinian children were arrested in 2005, 253 of them are still detained and facing harsh living conditions and treatment, and deprived from their rights to receive education.
Also, 24 female detainees are currently imprisoned and deprived from their basic rights, and subjected to different sorts of violations.
They are exposed to continuous humiliations, which includes naked body searches and insults.
The ministry revealed that as the year 2005 started, 21 detainees have been imprisoned for more than 20 years, 35 detainees spent more than 20 years, including detainees Sa’id Wajeeh Al Ataba, from Nablus, who was arrested on 29/7/1977.
There are five Arab detainees who have been arrested a long time ago, including the Lebanese detainee Sameer Quntar, who was arrested on 22/4/1979, and four detainees from the Golan, who were arrested since 1985.
The ministry reported that in spite of the truce, Israeli soldiers conducted repeated invasions and attacks against the Palestinian territories and arrested 3000 residents since the declaration of truce in the Sharm al Sheikh summit in February 2005.
Israeli Prison Authorities did not attempt to improve the living conditions of the detainees, which caused sharp deterioration in their living and health conditions.
Also, Israeli soldiers attacked several prisons and detonation facilities and fired gas and burning-bullets at the detainee; dozens were injured.
The number of detainees who died in detention facilities since 1967 arrived to 181 detainees, including 59 detainees who died since the beginning of the Intifada late 2000.
Most of the fatalities were caused by medical deprivation, torture, and assassination after arrest.
Five detainees died in 2005, following are their names and causes of death as reported by the Ministry of detainees;
– Rasem Abu Gharra, from Kafer Malik village near Ramallalh, he died in 27 January 2005 after fire broke out in Majeddo detention facilities, while prison administration stood still without aiding the detainees.
– Abdul-Fattah Raddad, from Saida village in Tulkarem, died of medical neglect in May, 5. He was shot by the soldiers while attempting to arrest him, and died three days later after being barred of any medical treatment.
– Mohammad Abu Al Rob, from Jenin, died on May 15 during torture in a detention facility in the Galilee; he was arrested at a military checkpoint after the soldiers claimed that he carried no entry permit into Israel.
– Bashar Bani Odeh, from Tammoun village, near Jenin, died of medical neglect in Gilboa’ detention facility; he died on June 23.
– Jawad Abu Mgheisib, from dir Al Balah, in the Gaza Strip, died on January 28, as a result of medical neglect; he was detained in the Negev Detention Facility.
