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Arrests,Imprisonment,ForcedTransferandDeportation
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It is estimated that since 1967, Israel has detained and imprisoned almost 700,000 Palestinians –one fifth of the Palestinian population living in the OPT - the vast majority of whom as politicalprisoners.
(UN, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Commission of Human Rights
, Question of the violation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine,
Jan. 2006)
•
Due to Israel's ongoing arrest operations, the
number of detainees
in the current Intifadavaries from day to day. According to
Mandela Institute
, there were 11,000 Palestinian securitydetainees or prisoners as of
mid-Dec. 2008
in the 10 central prisons governed by the IsraeliGeneral Prisons’ Administration (Ashqelon, Nafha in the Negev, Beer Sheba, Ramleh, Telmondnear Khadera, Gelbo’a, Rimonim, Hadarim on the Haifa Road, Kfar Yuna, and Shatta nearMegiddo) and the three military detention camps (Megiddo, Ofer near Ramallah, and Ketziot or ‘Ansar 3’ in the Negev). Of the total prisoners, 62 were
women
, 350
juveniles
, and 750
administrative detainees
.
•
According to
B’Tselem
figures, the Israeli Prison Service held, as of 31 Oct. 2008, 8,256 Palestinian
prisoners
(incl. 578in
administrative detention
and 291
children
) and the Israeli army 32 (incl. 6
Children
). Some 5,292 of all prisonerswere serving a sentence.
•
According to the PA Detainees Ministry, almost 11,000 Palestinians were being held in Israeli prisons or detention campsas of Aug. 2008, around 9,000 of them
political prisoners
charged with “security offenses”, including 326 minors, 94women and 47 PLC members. Of the total, some 1,150 are being held in “administrative detention,” i.e., without charge
(Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs,
Palestinians in Israeli Prisons
. Aug. 2008).
•
As of Oct. 2008,
297
children
under 18 years, incl. 6 girls and 23 aged 12-15, were detained in Israel, 8 of which inadministrative detention
(DCI Palestine)
. Between Sept. 2000 and Aug. 2008, over
6,700
children were arrested anddetained for different periods
(Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs,
Palestinians in Israeli Prisons
. Aug. 2008).
•
On 6 Sept. 1999, the Israeli High Court outlawed the use of arbitrary
torture
as an interrogation method (thoughstopping short of absolutely banning it as required by international law). However, certain forms of physical punishmentpersist. A recent report confirmed that Israel still practices ill-treatment and torture, such as isolation, denial of access tolawyers and family members, prolonged interrogation sessions, use of collaborators to threaten detainees, and threats tofamily members.
(
B’Tselem and Hamoked
Absolute Prohibition: The Torture and Ill-Treatment of Palestinian Detainees,
May 2007).
ExpropriationandDestructionofLand
•
According to MIFTAH, between 28 Sept. 2000 and 30 Nov. 2008, 256,878 dunums of land were
confiscated
by Israel, additional 77,401 dunums were
razed
, and some1,189,412 trees were
uprooted
.
(http://www.miftah.org/report.cfm)
•
The separation barrier
de facto annexes
9.0% of the West Bank and will,together with planned settlement expansion, place 45.5% of the occupied WestBank
under Israeli control
.
(PLO - NAD. Barrier to Peace: Assessment of Israel’s WallRoute, July 2008).
•
According to PCBS figures, as of the end of June 2008, 49,291 dunums of WestBank land had been
confiscated
for the
separation barrier
(incl. 22,141dunums in the north, 13,875 dunums in the middle, and 13,275 dunums in thesouth of the West Bank).
Residency,Closures&MovementRestrictions
•
In June 1967, Israel carried out a census of Palestinian residents, only registering those who were present in the WBGS atthat time in the
Palestinian population registry
, thus recognizing them as legal residents and providing them with IDcards. Ever since, Israel has retained full control of the registry despite the fact that the Oslo Accords required that it -along with other civil matters – be transferred to the PA for Areas A and B. Consequently, all residence issues are subjectto Israeli approval. This is also true for post-disengagement Gaza, where only registered persons, or those issued permitsby Israel, can use the Rafah crossing to enter into Egypt. Persons notlisted in the population registry who wish to legally join their families andpermanently reside in the West Bank can only do so through Israel’sapproval for
family unification
, which, however, is not a vested rightbased on fundamental rights to family, but a "special benevolent act of the Israeli authorities". Following the start of the second Intifada, Israelstopped processing requests for family unification and stopped issuingvisitor permits to non-resident family members. According to the PA Ministry of Civil Affairs some 120,000 requests for family unification havesince been made (not including the thousands of cases which werepending when the freeze began).
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