Israel arrested at least 607 Palestinians, including 59 children and 13 women, from the occupied West Bank in the month of August, pro-Palestine advocacy groups say.
In a joint statement released on Monday, the Commission of Detainees' Affairs, Palestinian Prisoners' Club, Addameer Prisoners' Support and Human Rights Association said the largest number of arrests took place in al-Quds. Al-Khalil, Bethlehem and Jenin came next.
They said August witnessed a large number of violations and crimes committed by the Israeli regime against the Palestinians, ranging from field executions to collective punishment.
Israeli authorities use torturous techniques even after transferring Palestinian detainees for interrogation and then to detention centers. The groups have also recorded various injuries endured by the Palestinian detainees, some of whom were shot by the Israeli military.
Palestinian prisoners are held for lengthy periods without being charged, tried, or convicted, which is in sheer violation of human rights. Advocacy groups describe Israel’s use of the administrative detention as a “bankrupt tactic” and have long called on Israel to end its use.
The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) keeps Palestinian prisoners under deplorable conditions lacking proper hygienic standards. They have also been subjected to systematic torture, harassment and repression all through the years of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.
According to the Palestine Detainees Studies Center, about 60% of the
Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli jails suffer from chronic
diseases, a number of whom died in detention or after being released due
to the severity of their cases.
The occupation authorities continued their violations and retaliations after transferring the Palestinians for investigation and to detention centres. The organisations also recorded various injuries endured by detainees, some of whom were shot by the occupation army.
They stated that there were approximately 4,650 Palestinian prisoners in the occupation's jails at the end of August, including 32 female prisoners, about 180 minors, and 743 administrative detainees,which include 2 female prisoners and four children.
The highest rate of arrests during August was in al-Quds, where 148 of Palestinians were arrested, including 30 children and minors and seven women, followed by Hebron with 118 arrests and Bethlehem with 96 arrests.
While the number of administrative detention orders issued during the month reached 272 orders, including 143 new ones, and 129 renewal orders.
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