The number of without charges by Israel has dramatically risen in recent weeks, said the Palestinian Commission of Prisoners' Affairs in a statement on Monday.
According to the commission, the number of "administrative detainees" has gone from some 520 to 650 over the last 20 days, mainly due to a rise in the number of administrative detention orders against Palestinians by the Israeli authorities in March and April.
is a detention system used by Israeli authorities against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories, by which any Palestinian can be held without charges for periods of up to six months, which can be renewable indefinitely. The Israeli security forces usually issue administrative detention orders based on "secret information" provided by Israeli secret services.
"The recent escalation of events has led to a spike in Palestinian detentions, especially in the and in ," Ameen Shouman, the commission's director told °®Âþµº.
"In recent weeks there has been an average of up to 30 detentions each night," he added. "Simultaneously, administrative detention orders have been issued in large numbers, as well as renewal orders for previous detentions."
In 2021, more than ten Palestinians under administrative detention have gone on to protest their arrest without charges. The longest strike was by , who reached an agreement with the Israeli authorities not to renew his detention following 141 days without food. Abu Hawash was subsequently released in February.
Currently, 40-year-old Palestinian detainee Khalil Awawdeh is on the 47th day of his hunger strike in protest of his arrest without any charges.
In January, Palestinian administrative detainees started an , demanding the end of the policy of administrative detention. The boycott continues for the 108th day.
Some 4,450 Palestinians are held in Palestinian prisons, including 32 women and 160 minors, .
In early March, Palestinian prisoners announced , which was expected to be the largest since 2004.
The move was suspended the day before its launch after an agreement was reached between Palestinian prisoners' representatives and the Israeli prison authority, who agreed to introduced after the in September.
These restrictions included visit bans, limitation of the courtyard time and repeated transfer of prisoners between prisons.