Report cites sharp rise in administrative detention of Palestinians since Gaza war

A new human rights report has documented an unprecedented escalation in the use of administrative detention against Palestinians, including Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of occupied East Jerusalem, particularly since the outbreak of the Gaza war.

The report, issued by Adalah Center, states that administrative detention has historically been used almost exclusively against Palestinians in the territories occupied in 1967. It argues that recent data indicate a significant expansion of the practice.

According to official figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request submitted to the Israeli Ministry of Justice, 560 administrative detention cases were opened in Israeli central courts between January 2020 and May 2025 against Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of the 1948 territories and East Jerusalem.

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During the same period, at least 175 appeals were filed with the Israeli Supreme Court challenging administrative detention orders. The vast majority of those appeals were rejected, the report said.

The data further show that from the start of the Gaza war until May 2025, central courts within the 1948 territories examined 297 administrative detention cases, reflecting what the organisation described as a sharp escalation within a relatively short timeframe.

The Jerusalem Central Court recorded the highest number of cases, handling 376 out of the 560 documented cases, suggesting a particular concentration on Jerusalem residents. Courts in Haifa, the Centre District, Nazareth and Beersheba also registered dozens of cases, most of them after October 2023.

Administrative detention allows authorities to hold individuals without formal charge or trial for renewable periods, based on classified evidence. Human rights organisations have long criticised the practice as a violation of due process.

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