Rights group records 270% rise in Israel's 'administrative detention' of Palestinians since Gaza genocide started
A Palestinian prisoners’ rights group says Israeli authorities have sharply increased the use of administrative detention against Palestinians, describing it as a deliberate policy aimed at breaking detainees while in prison.
Director of the Palestine Center for Prisoner Studies, Riyad al-Ashqar, said on Sunday that the implementation of administrative detention has dramatically surged since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza in October 2023.
The researcher noted that the number of individuals held in administrative detention increased from around 1,300 before October 7, 2023, to more than 3,500 by February 2026, marking an astounding rise of 270%.
Ashqar emphasized that this is not an accidental increase; rather, it is a calculated approach aimed at keeping numerous Palestinian leaders in prison. The strategy disrupts their lives, futures, and participation in society.
He described how numerous abductees, once freed, are quickly apprehended again and subjected to new administrative orders that can keep them in custody for long durations, occasionally spanning years.
A large number of Palestinian abductees have been taken into custody through a process referred to as administrative detention, which operates in a quasi-judicial manner.
Initially, these individuals are held in jail for six months, but their detention can be extended repeatedly for an unspecified duration without any formal charges or a trial.
Ashqar pointed out that administrative detention acts as a type of collective punishment. Since1967, Israel has granted upwards of 75,000 orders for administrative detention, with more than fifty percent being renewals.
Following Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, there has been a significant increase in the number of administrative detainees, which has now risen to around 35% of the total Palestinian abductees held illegally in Israeli facilities.
The situation surrounding Palestinian abductees in Israeli custody raises serious concerns due to inadequate hygiene standards.
Furthermore, these individuals endure persistent torture, abuse, and systemic oppression, according to verified testimonies from ex-abductees provided to international rights groups.
In response to their unfair imprisonment, Palestinian prisoners have consistently participated in extensive hunger strikes to express their dissent.
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