Palestinian Detainees Escalate Their Struggle

By Staff

Seven administrative detainees in “Israeli” detention centers continue their hunger strike against their “administrative detention” for a varying period of time. It is expected that the pace of the hunger strikes will increase among the “administrative” detainees. Also, about 60 Palestinian administrative detainees continue their boycott of “Israeli” military courts.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club [PPC] has confirmed that the “administrative” detainees, mainly in Ofer Prison and several other detention centers from all factions, are continuing their struggle against their “administrative detention”, in accordance with the program approved by the “Administrative” Detainees Committee and in coordination with the Higher Emergency Committee for the Captive Movement.

The Prisoners Club stated that today’s step is the release of a new batch of detainees to the cells. This step means pushing the prison administration to bring in more staff working inside, in addition to the state of tension it imposes. Through this move, in addition to holding sit-ins, the detainees are ready for any massive collective confrontation with the prison administration. These steps are part of the “disobedience” plan against the laws of the prison administration collectively.

The Committee of Administrative Detainees, emanating from all Palestinian factions in detention centers, announced in a statement, on August 3, the start of an open, escalating and comprehensive struggle program against the so-called “administrative detention”.

In its statement, the committee said: “In order for our confrontation not be intermittent or a mere reaction, it was agreed, in the Ofer prison, as a preliminary start, on many collective steps, which include: ‘partial and open disobedience, mass exit to the cells, strikes for limited groups and protest in the yards, returning medicines and not dealing with clinics, which will extend to the rest of the detention centers’”.

Since the beginning of 2023, the “Israeli” occupation has issued about 1,978 “administrative detention” orders, until the end of last July. The number of “administrative” detainees until the end of July reached 1,200 Palestinian citizens, and this is the highest number since the al-Aqsa Intifada [Uprising].

The “administrative” detainees are mainly held in three detention centers, namely Ofer, the Negev and Megiddo, and the rest of them are held in several other prisons. The highest percentage of “administrative detention” orders compared to the last five years, during the past year 2022, was 2409 Palestinians.