Prisoners Groups: Israel Detained 539 Palestinians in March

Ramallah, MINA – Israel detained 539 Palestinians during the month of March, including 62 minors and 19 women, and issued 195 administrative detention orders against Palestinians, today said prisoners’ advocacy groups, WAFA reported.

The Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission, the Palestinian Prisoner Society, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, and Wadi Hilweh Information Center, said in their joint report that most of the detentions in March took place in Jerusalem where 163 Palestinians were rounded up, including 43 minors.

They said that 4450 Palestinians are incarcerated in Israel by the end of March, including 160 minors, 32 women, and 530 administrative detainees.

Israel issued 195 administrative detention orders in March, said the organizations, of which 107 were new orders and 88 renewed ones.

The international human rights organization, Amnesty International, has described Israel’s administrative detention policy as a “cruel, unjust practice which helps maintain Israel’s system of apartheid against Palestinians.” It called on Israel to end it.(T/R3/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)