Over the last several days, Israeli Authorities have ruled to extend the administrative detention of more than 60 Palestinians in the Negev Prison Camp, a camp made up mainly of tents in the Negev desert in southern Israel.
Prison sources said that Israeli authorities handed over decisions for 31 Palestinian prisoners in the jail on Thursday. On Sunday such orders were handed to more than 10 others and on Monday another twenty prisoners were notified of the decision.
The ‘administrative detentions’ are used by Israeli authorities to hold Palestinians without trial or charges, generally for a six-month period. After six months, a panel of security forces review the case and decide whether to extend the detention for another six months.
Israeli authorities claim the detentions or for ‘security’ reasons, but the families of those detained without charge have argued that their relative is innocent, and is being held without charge simply because Israel has no case against them. Holding prisoners without charges for long periods is a violation of international human rights agreements to which Israel is a signatory.
According to a report by the Israeli human rights organization B’tselem, "Over the years, Israel held Palestinians in prolonged detention without trying them and without informing them of the suspicions against them. While detainees may appeal the detention, neither they nor their attorneys are allowed to see the evidence. Israel has therefore made a charade out of the entire system of procedural safeguards in both domestic and international law regarding the right to liberty and due process."
