By Qais Abu Samra
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA): Israeli forces rounded up 6,489 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip this year, according to official estimates.
A total of 1063 minors and 140 women were among those arrested in 2018, the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Commission of Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs said in a statement on Saturday.
Israeli forces detained six lawmakers and 38 journalists in 2018, the commission said.
According to the statement, Israeli authorities have issued 988 Administrative Detention Orders (without charges) this year.
All the abducted Palestinians faced at least one form of torture, humiliation, including in front of their families and others, the threat of violence against them and their loved ones.
Around 6,000 Palestinians remain held in detention facilities in Israel, the commission said.
Israel is still holding captive 250 children, including one girl, 54 women, eight legislators, 27 journalists, and 450 who are held under Administrative Detention.
48 of the detainees have been held for more than twenty years, including 27 who have been held since before the Oslo Agreement of 1994.
Estimates show that the sweeping majority of Palestinians arrested this year were from the West Bank, while only 5 percent were from Gaza.
The army abducted the Palestinians from every part of occupied Palestine, while most of the abductions took place in the West Bank, as the soldiers took 4495 Palestinian prisoners (69.3%), including 1803 (27.8%) from occupied Jerusalem, and 191 (2.9%) from the Gaza Strip.
Among the Palestinians who are still imprisoned by Israel are 87% from the West Bank, 8% from occupied Jerusalem, and 5% from the Gaza Strip.
Since the year 1967, 217 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons, including five who died in 2018, among them some who died hours or days after being detained.
The five detainees, who died this year, are Yassin Saradeeh, Aziz ‘Oweisat, Mohammad Anbar, Mohammad Marshoud and Mohammad al-Khatib.
70 of the detainees suffer from physical, psychological conditions, and dozens were shot prior to their abduction, and many became disabled due to medical neglect and torture.
In direct violation of various international laws and agreements, especially treaties regarding the rights of children, including the right to protection and the chance to life and development, Israel continues to hold 250 Palestinian children under very difficult conditions, and deprive most of them from family visits, education, physical and psychological treatment.
The children are held in Ofar and Majeddo prisons, and have been subject to torture, high prison terms, extreme living conditions, and high fines, in addition to being treated like adults, without any regard to their age, or stage of development.
Israel also issued house arrest orders against 100 Palestinian children from occupied Jerusalem, after holding them captive for various periods, and subjecting them to torture during interrogation.
The interrogations were carried out without any form of legal representation, or at least the presence of an adult family member.
This year witnessed repeated and escalating cases of hunger strikes among many detainees, including some who went on strike on their own, and were later joined by dozens of detainees as an act of solidarity.
The main reason for hunger strikes is the illegal policies of Administrative Detention, medical neglect and extremely bad living conditions.
At least 39 detainees individually held hunger strikes in 2018, rejecting their Administrative Detention and demanding their rights.
The Israeli forces frequently carry out wide-ranging arrest campaigns across the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.
Additional report from imemc.org
[Photo: Israeli security forces take into custody Palestinian worshipper in Al-Aqsa mosque compound on 18 September 2018. Photographer: Jerusalem Islamic Waqf Handout/AA]
