Israel revealed in an update statement issued as part of the Court’s hearnig of Public Committee Against Torture in Israel’s (PCATI) petition that between October and December 2024, alongside the military operation in the northern Gaza Strip, approximately 1,315 new prisoners from Gaza were admitted to Israeli detention facilities.

Ofer prison at the Occupied West Bank, January 19, 2025 (Photo: Chaim Goldberg / Flash 90)

Thus, the number of prisoners increased by approximately 50% in just two months. ⁠The state’s announcement also admitted that of the 3,400 detainees from Gaza, about 500 have not yet received a permanent detention order. In other words, the military commander has not yet checked whether they are actually “illegal combatants” and what the justification is for their detention. Another 500 detainees have been prevented from meeting with an attorney by the order of the official responsible according to the law.

“The alarming numbers revealed in the state’s announcement in response to our petition prove that the Sde Teman has resumed full operation, as have other facilities, such as Ofer and Anatot, where thousands of new detainees are being held in inhumane and life-threatening conditions and are exposed to severe abuse. The long delays in issuing a permanent detention order mean that many detainees are being held in these conditions without justification for protracted periods of time,” PCATI said.

Even if the current exchange deal is fully completed, thousands of detainees from Gaza and the West Bank will remain in Israel. Many of them will likely continue to be held in military detention facilities that have become infamous. “Accordingly, we stressed the urgent and immediate need to expand the protection of the thousands of Palestinians who remain in detention through independent monitoring mechanisms, particularly by the Red Cross, and to allow them to renew contact with their families. These steps are essential for the rehabilitation of both societies, for shaping a reality in which human rights are observed without reservation, and for ensuring that the horrors of the past year will not be repeated,” added Tal Steiner, the Executive Director of PCATI.

Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=31874