https://arab.news/w5y4y
- Figure does not include detainees arrested from Gaza held in notorious detention camps
- Exchange of Palestinian prisoners was key focus of Israel-Hamas ceasefire last month
LONDON: More than 9,250 prisoners and detainees are in Israeli occupation prisons, mostly held without charge or trial under administrative detention or pending investigation, according to prisoner rights organizations.
The figure does not include detainees arrested from the Gaza Strip and held in detention camps, including the infamous Sde Teiman site.
As of November, there are 1,242 men and 49 women facing Israeli prison sentences, one of whom is from Gaza, while the number of child detainees totals 350 in Ofer and Majdo prisons.
Another 3,368 people are held in administrative detention, a measure that allows Israeli authorities to imprison Palestinians without trial or charge and renew their detention periods every three or six months.
Israel has classified 1,205 prisoners as “illegal fighters,” including people from Lebanon, Syria and some from the Gaza Strip. This brings the figure to 6,214, with the rest held under investigation or awaiting court.
The exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages and bodies was one of the primary terms for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in October. Prominent Palestinian political and military figures have passed through the gates of Israeli prisons since 1967, including former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Palestinian Vice President Hussein Al-Sheikh.