Israeli forces detained over 1,000 Palestinians, including 274 children, during the months of January and February, according to Palestinian prisoners rights group Addameer.
Addameer released a statement on Wednesday, citing a joint report by the Prisoners and Liberties Affairs Association, Palestinian Prisoner Club, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, and Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, which says that during January and February 2018, Israeli forces arrested 1,319 Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territory.
Among the detainees were 274 children, 23 women and four journalists, according to Ma’an.
Those taken included: 381 individuals from Jerusalem; 233 from the Ramallah and al-Bireh district and 20 from the Salfit district in the central West Bank; 140 from the Hebron district and 118 from the Bethlehem district in the southern West Bank; 133 from the Jenin district, 107 from the Nablus district, 59 from the Tulkarem district, and 54 from the Qalqiliya district in the northern West Bank; 21 from the Jericho district, and 30 from the Gaza Strip.
The number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails, as of February 28, 2018, was 6,500, Addameer reported.
Of the 6,500 prisoners, 63 were women, including six girls, and 350 were children.
In regard to the policy of administrative detention — Israel’s widely condemned policy of internment without charge or trial — Israeli authorities issued 169 administrative orders since the beginning of the year, which includes including 52 new orders.
As of the end of February, the total number of administrative detainees was 500, Addameer said.
Additionally, the report highlights the cases of Yassin al-Saradih from Jericho and Ismael Abu Riala from Gaza.
“In these particular instances, the occupation authorities violated their right to life during their detention, Addameer said, adding that Israeli forces have killed 213 Palestinian detainees since 1967, 72 pf whom died as a result of torture.
The report also drew attention to the issue of full strip searches carried out by Israeli prison authorities, citing several testimonies submitted by detainees, which claimed that these searches “violated their basic dignity.”
The report went on to detail violations against female prisoners in Israeli prisons, which include: the denial of medical treatment, poor quality food, overcrowding in the places of detention, and physical and psychological abuse.
