Thread by @HediViterbo

Hamas says it would release all Israeli hostages in exchange for the #Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

But what do we know about these imprisoned Palestinians?

A thread 🧵

1/25

#Palestine

First of all, more than a thousand (non-citizen) #Palestinians are currently imprisoned in Israel without charge or trial, in so-called "administrative detention."

Neither they nor their attorneys know the allegations against them.



2/25 btselem.org/administrative…

"In administrative detention, a person is held … without having committed an offense, [because] … he or she [allegedly] plans to break the law in the future. … [That person faces] unknown allegations with no way to disprove them."



@btselem

3/25 btselem.org/administrative…

Under Israeli law, "administrative detention" can be extended every six months – with no set limit.

Extensions are reviewed by an Israeli military court, behind closed doors, based on secret materials not disclosed to the defense attorney.



4/25 btselem.org/publications/s…

Israeli military judges don't verify the secret allegations against Palestinians.

One former judge admitted in an interview: "all my information comes through the [Israeli] General Security Service agents. … I didn't doubt what they said."



5/25

In theory, Palestinians can appeal these judicial review decisions.

In reality, such appeals almost never succeed:



6/25 scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/vjtl/vol45/iss…

Without a fixed prison sentence, these Palestinians can't anticipate their release from prison and plan their lives accordingly.

They're kept in a stressful cycle of hope toward each judicial review, and despair following continued incarceration.

7/25

Israel also recently detained thousands of Gazans who were lawfully working in Israel (with work permits).

According to @Gisha_Access and other NGOs, "these arrests were made … without cause":



8/25 gisha.org/en/illegally-d…

So, as we've seen, thousands of Palestinians are incarcerated in Israel without charge or trial.

But there are also thousands of other Palestinians in Israeli prisons, who've been convicted by Israeli courts:



9/25 btselem.org/statistics/det…

Most of these Palestinians have been convicted by Israeli military courts, whose conviction rate is 99.76%.

In other words, once their trial starts, Palestinians are almost destined for conviction.



10/25 haaretz.com/2011-11-29/ty-…

Israeli military court hearings for Palestinians are extremely short.

For example, according to @YeshDin, hearings for authorizing continued remand until completion of trial last less than two minutes on average:



11/25 yesh-din.org/en/backyard-pr…

Palestinians are rarely released on bail during their trials.

In one hearing, the court typist's computer was caught on camera with the following template text:

"I order that the defendant be remanded for __ additional days, until __."



12/25 facebook.com/avigdor.feldma…

Although Palestinians' mother tongue is Arabic, Israeli military court hearings are conducted in Hebrew.

There are soldiers serving as court interpreters, but their professional training is lacking, and part of their role is to ensure order and proper conduct in court.

13/25

Hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli prisons are below the age of 18. Most of them have been tried in Israeli military courts.

Israel is the only country to routinely prosecute an entire population's children in military courts.



14/25 btselem.org/statistics/min…

For the sake of comparison, the number of Palestinian children in Israeli detention in a single year exceeds the total number of people held by the United States at the (in)famous Guantánamo prison since 2002.

15/25

Over the years, I've analyzed hundreds of Israeli military court cases concerning Palestinian children.

None of these cases ended in an acquittal.

The average prison sentence was nearly 8 months (and many were longer, obviously).

16/25

The most common charge against Palestinian children is stone throwing – an act punishable by 20 years in prison.

(this is the relevant Israeli military statute: )

17/25 idf.il/media/zh2jx5pd…

Other outlawed acts include:

- Unauthorized demonstrations;
- Displaying unauthorized flags or symbols;
- "Tring to influence public opinion in a way that might harm public order."

All of which are punishable by 10 years in Israeli prison if committed by Palestinians.

18/25

Palestinians from #Gaza and the #WestBank are transferred to prisons inside Israel.

According to critics, this practice violates the Fourth Geneva Convention (specifically Articles 49, 76, and 80):



@Addameer

19/25 addameer.org/publications/d…

Palestinians in Israeli prisons are systematically denied family visits and family phone calls.



20/25 addameer.org/key_issues/fam…

Palestinians in Israeli prisons also suffer from overcrowding.

And the Israeli parliament recently approved measures that would reduce their living space even more:



21/25 haaretz.com/israel-news/20…

According to @MCourtWatch, Israel has detained about 800,000 Palestinians since 1967.

This is the equivalent of a fifth of the current Palestinian population of #Gaza and the #WestBank.



22/25 militarycourtwatch.org/page.php?id=a6…

But this is just a rough estimate, because Israel doesn't publish clear and accurate information about Palestinians in its custody.



23/25 militarycourtwatch.org/page.php?id=K2…

Israel’s mass incarceration of Palestinians mirrors the transformation of the Palestinian territory into, in effect, a colossal prison.

Indeed, Israel severely restricts Palestinian movement within, between, from, and into #Gaza and the #WestBank.



24/25 researchgate.net/publication/31…

There's more information on imprisoned #Palestinians here:

1.

2.

3.

4.

25/25 jadaliyya.com/Details/36384
qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/bitstrea…
cambridge.org/gb/academic/su…
cambridge.org/gb/universityp…