Ramallah, 3 Muharram 1438/4 October 2016 (MINA) – The Israeli occupation forces arrested 436 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza in September 2016, including 73 children and 11 women, human rights groups reported.
About 151 of those arrests took place in Occupied Jerusalem, 81 in Al-Khalil, 40 in Bethlehem, 40 in Nablus, 35 in Jenin, 32 in Ramallah and El-Bireh, 23 in Tulkarem, eight in Qalqilya, six in Tubas, six in Salfit, five from Jericho and nine from the Gaza Strip, The Palestinian Information Center (PIC) was quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
There are approximately 7,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including 59 women, 12 of them minor girls. There is a total of approximately 350 children in Megiddo and Ofer prisons.
According to the report, there are 700 Palestinians held in administrative detention without charge or trial. 122 administrative detention orders were issued in September, including 44 new orders.
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The Battle of Empty Stomachs in September Palestinian prisoners Mohammed and Mahmoud al-Balboul, along with Malik Al-Qadi, carried out hunger strikes for over 70 days against the administrative detention orders.
They ended their strikes on 22 September after reaching an agreement for their release without renewal of their administrative detention.
Al-Qadi received pledges to be transferred to a Palestinian hospital while the Balboul brothers received promises to be released on 8 December 2016.
Palestinian prisoners Ahmad Abu Fara and Anas Shadid launched their hunger strike in September against administrative detention while Jawad Jawarish and Maher Abayat announced their strike against arbitrary transfer and isolation. The popular uprising which began on 1 October 2015 has had a clear impact on the issue of prisoners.
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The number of daily arrests has increased over the past year and has culminated in the abduction of civilians from different ages and social groups.
At least 7,955 Palestinians were arrested, including 1963 children, 229 women and girls, 41 journalists and five members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
The highest number of recorded arrests was in Occupied Jerusalem, with 2,355 Palestinians detained since last October, including 842 children and 128 women (among whom 24 minor girls.) There has also been a surge in the number of administrative detention orders throughout the year.
For the first time since 2008, occupation authorities have issued 1,436 administrative detention orders in 2016 so far, including 546 new orders issued without charge or trial under the so-called “secret file” pretext.
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Many administrative detention orders were issued against young people and students who are not affiliated with the Palestinian political factions.
Pursuing systematic and deiberate policies of misreatment
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Since last October, the Israeli occupation authorities have pursued systematic and deliberate policies of mistreatment against Palestinian prisoners at all stages, from the pre-detention to the post-detention phases.
Notorious among these violations are the use of excessive force and the extrajudicial killing of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers.
The human rights organizations also monitored violations and torture against Palestinian detainees, including aggressive beating, intensive interrogation, break-ins into prison cells, and preplanned medical neglect.
A series of draft laws was also enacted against Palestinians, including the extension of prison sentences against “stone throwers,” and administrative detainees in an attempt to quell anti-occupation activism.
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In addition, new charges were issued to arrest or deport hundreds of Palestinians on account of their statements on social media networks.(T/P008/R07)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
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