In the context of continued violations of international law and the rights of the Palestinian people, Palestinian human rights organizations working on Prisoner issues (The Palestinian Prisoners Club and Addameer Prisoners Support and Human Rights organization) recorded a total of at least 6500 arrest cases since the beginning of 2018. This number included around 1080 children and 133 women. Those organizations issued a report which revealed that the occupation forces arrested 6 PLC member during 2018, 17 journalists, and issued 912 administrative detention orders included 398 new orders.
According to the report the Israeli occupation forces continued to arbitrary imprisoning Palestinians during the year of 2018. In fact, the year ended with around 5700 Palestinians in detention including 230 children, 55 women (with 1 minor), around 500 administrative detainee, 19 journalists, 8 PLC member, 700 sick prisoner, and 27 prisoners since before signing the Oslo Accords in 1993 including the longest-serving prisoners, Karem and Maher Younis who have been in prison since 1983.
The report also highlighted the fact that Palestinians living in Jerusalem were the most targeted by the Israeli occupation forces during 2018. The organizations recorded around 1600 cases of arrests in Jerusalem, this included 400 children and 60 women. Furthermore, this year witnessed an intense targeting of children and youth who mostly were re-arrested and received conditional releases. Those kinds of releases usually consist of fines, bails and house arrests.
The Israeli occupation forces arrested around 6742 Palestinians in 2017, this number included 1467 children and 156. Moreover, 2016 witnessed around 6440 arrests including 1332 children and 164 women.
The Palestinian human rights organizations stand against the continued violations of Palestinian rights. The Israeli occupation forces systematically violate the rights of Palestinian prisoners, especially children.
Some Israeli Occupation Policies in 2018
Excessive use of force and extrajudicial killings
Israeli occupation forces regularly murders Palestinians while arresting them, this year some of the Palestinians who got killed in this manner were Yasin al-Sradeeh who was killed after shooting and beating him while arresting him, Muhammad al-Khatib and Muhammad al-Rimawi who both were beaten to death during the arrest, and finally this December the execution of Saleh al-Barghouthy after his arrest.
Israeli occupation forces continue to use the policy of extrajudicial killings against Palestinians, as they have killed at least 250 Palestinians in 2018.
Collective punishment
Kobar:
Just a few hours after the killing of Saleh al-Barghouthy on 12 Dec 2018, Israeli occupation group called “al-Yamam” along with a special forces group (undercover) raided Kobar village. The besieged and raided Saleh’s family home and started randomly shooting live ammunition causing three injuries. One of the injured persons was Salah al-Barghouthy (55 years old), who was shot in his leg and then arrested. Salah’s leg later got amputated, after transferring him to a hospital for treatment.
In the same night, the Israeli soldiers held around 100 citizens of the village inside Saleh’s family home. The soldiers kept the citizens until 2:00 am then they released them after holding them for around 6 hours. The Soldiers left after arresting 5 of them including the injured Salah al-Barghouthy and Saleh’s father and brother. Then in the morning the soldiers came back and arrested another 5 citizens of the villages. Until this day Israeli occupation forces systematically raid the village and arrest its residents, so far there are 28 arrests from the villages.
Shewekeh
After an attack on one of the illegal settlements in Northern West Bank, the Israeli occupation forces is utilizing such a policy on a number of Palestinian towns, and their residents, in search of the person accused of carrying out the attack, Ashraf Na’alweh.
Since the day of the attack, 7 October 2018, the Family, relatives, neighbors, and friends of Ashraf are being punished on daily basis through the utilization of different mechanisms. Whether through newly instituted checkpoints, the use of force, several raids on the towns of Shewekeh and Bait Leed, demolition orders on the family house, and arrests and interrogations sessions these punishment mechanisms are a violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
Despite the fact that the Israeli occupation forces executed Ashraf on 13 Dec 2018, still his father, mother, brother, and brother in law are in detention and their home was demolished.
al-Am’ary Refugee Camp – home demolition
On Friday 15 Dec 2018, hundreds of Israeli soldiers raided al-Ama’ry refugee camp in order to demolish the home of Islam Abu Hemaid. The demolition order came from the Israeli Supreme Court after accusing Islam of killing an Israeli soldier during a soldier’s night raid in May 2018. The family of Abu Hemaid has six sons in Israeli detention, four of them are serving life sentences, one is under administrative detention, and Islam is still waiting for his sentence which may be also a life sentence.
After raiding the camp, the Israeli soldiers emptied Abu Hemaid home which was filled with protestors standing in solidarity with the family. The soldiers also emptied all the other homes surrounding it, all of those people were taken to al-Biereh’s government school nearby. Around 200 people were held in the yard of the school, those people included elders, women, children, and youth who were harassed and some were beaten by the soldiers.
This year witnessed the continuation of other policies as well, such as targeting journalists, human rights defenders, PLC members, children, and women. Also, the policy of administrative detention continues despite the prisoners' attempts to resist it by boycotting the unfair military courts.