Palestinians in Israeli custody

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Palestinian prisoners in Israel mainly refers to Palestinians imprisoned in Israel following apprehension resulting from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Most prisoners are held after conviction by the Israel Prison Service, which is under the jurisdiction of the Internal Security ministry.

Number of prisoners

Between 1967 and 1988, more than 600,000 Palestinians were held in Israeli jails for a week or more. Since 1967, approximately one-fifth of the population has at one time been imprisoned. Those arrested were subject either to trial or Administrative detention.

According to the Fédération Internationale des ligues des Droits de l'Homme (FIDH), from the beginning of the Second Intifada in 2000 through to April 2003, more than 28,000 Palestinians were incarcarated in prisons or prisoner camps. In April 2003 alone, there were more than 5,500 arrests.

In 2007, the number of Palestinians under administrative detention averaged about 830 per month, including women and minors under the age of 18. By March 2008, more than 8,400 Palestinians were held by Israeli civilian and military authorities, of which 5,148 were serving sentences, 2,167 were facing legal proceedings and 790 were under administrative detention, often without charge or knowledge of the suspicions against them. The main prisons in which Palestinian prisoners apprehended by Israel are held are in the Ofer Prison in the West Bank and the Megiddo and Ketziot prisons in Israel.

On 17 April 2008, the annual day of commemoration for Palestinian Prisoners, Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, published a summary report of statistics noting that there were 11,000 Palestinian prisoners being held in prison and detention in Israel, including 98 women, 345 children, 50 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and 3 ministers of the Palestinian National Authority. Of these 11,000 Palestinian prisoners, 8,456 were from the West Bank, 762 from the Gaza Strip, 552 from Jerusalem, and 132 from within Israel itself.

Imprisoned politicians

There are several Palestinian leaders and politicians held in Israeli jails, including 47 Hamas members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, in addition to ministers and mayors of various towns and cities in the West Bank.

Marwan Barghouti

Main article: Marwan Barghouti

Marwan Barghouti a leader of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militia and al-Mustaqbal political party, was arrested and tried by an Israeli civilian court for attacks carried out by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. He was convicted on May 20 2004 on five counts of murder and sentenced to five life sentences and forty years.

Ahmad Sa'adat

Main article: Ahmad Sa'adat

Ahmad Sa'adat, the secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is currently held by Israel. In 2002, he was tried and imprisoned in Jericho by the Palestinian National Authority, despite the Palestinian Supreme Court having declared his imprisonment unconstitutional. On March 14 2006, Israeli forces surrounded the prison in Jericho and took Sa'adat. He has been held under administrative detention by Israel since for his alleged responsibility in the assasination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi on October 17 2001 by the PFLP.

Prisoner exchanges

Israel has released prisoners as part of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. On August 25 2008, Israel released 198 Palestinian prisoners in a "goodwill gesture" to encourage diplomatic relations and support Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas. The Israeli government has also offered to release 450 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier held by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip since June 2006.

Accusations of human rights abuses

The IDF has been accused by several organisations of abusing Palestinian prisoners.

In a July 2003 report by the FIDH that was presented to the UN Human Rights Committee, it was noted that "Israel does not recognize Palestinian prisoners as having the status of prisoners of war." In practice, it is the Israeli military that controls the conditions of detention and the administrative detention system allows for the imprisonment of an individual for up to 6 months, and this detention can be extended without the approval of a judge. The FIDH report also notes that, "In the case of administrative detention, the necessary conditions for the execution of a fair trial are far from being achieved given that the lawyers do not even have access to the evidence."

Hunger strikes

In May 2001, almost 1,000 Palestinian prisoners participated in a month-long hunger strike, in protest against "arbitrary treatment by prison officials, substandard prison conditions, prohibitions on family visits, use of solitary confinement, poor medical care, and Israel's refusal to release all the categories of prisoners specified in its agreements with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)." The strike was ended after prison Israeli authorities promised to review the complaints and ease restrictions on visitations. A government report released in June 2001 on conditions in the Shatta prison noted that the living conditions were "particularly harsh" in the wing where prisoners from the Occupied Palestinian Territories were held, and concluded that the exposed tents and filthy bathrooms where prisoners were housed and bathed were unfit for human use.