Rights groups say Israel issued 180 administrative detention orders in 15 days

Palestinian human rights organisations say Israeli authorities have sharply increased the use of administrative detention against Palestinian detainees, issuing more than 180 detention orders within just 15 days.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Club said Israeli authorities were continuing a dangerous escalation in the use of detention without charge or trial.

According to the statement, legal teams recorded more than 180 administrative detention orders during the period, including orders against three female detainees: Suad al-Khawaja, held for two months, and former prisoner Abeer Odeh and Malak Marai, each held for four months.

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The organisations said the number of administrative detainees had reached 3,442 by the beginning of March, including 20 women and dozens of children, representing more than 36 per cent of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.

They added that many Palestinians arrested since the start of the current war have been immediately placed under administrative detention, while others have been detained under allegations of “incitement” on social media.

The statement also noted that approximately 95 per cent of appeals submitted on behalf of administrative detainees are rejected, including many cases reviewed by Israel’s Supreme Court.

The two organisations called for the development of a comprehensive national strategy aimed at gradually boycotting Israeli courts, particularly in cases related to administrative detention, arguing that the practice carries serious national and legal implications for the Palestinian prisoners’ issue.

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