A Palestinian official says more than 6,500 Palestinians, including hundreds of children, are currently being held in Israeli prisons.On Wednesday, Abdul-Nasser Ferwana, the head of the Palestinian Detainees Committee, said that most of the Palestinian detainees were imprisoned over the past few months.
Latest statistics indicate that the current number of detainees is 6,500, held in 18 prisons, detention camps and interrogation centers, Ferwana said. Two hundred of them are children. 21 are women, and nearly 500 are held under administrative detention, without charges or trial.
The Palestinian official added that the arrests and imprisonments had been done in revenge and retaliation against a civilian population.
About 4,000 Palestinians have been detained since June, when three Israeli settlers disappeared and their bodies were found afterwards.
He added that 31 of the detainees have been in prison for more than 20 years, while 16 have been in jail for over 25 years. Also, 478 detainees are serving a life term.
Back in June, tens of Palestinian prisoners who had been on a hunger strike in protest against Israels so-called administrative detention were hospitalized over health concerns.
Administrative detention is a sort of imprisonment without trial or charge that allows Israel to incarcerate Palestinians for up to six months; the detention order can, however, be renewed for an indefinite period of time.
By Press TV
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