Political Prisoners in Israel/Palestine

0 Israelis are possibly being held prisoner by Palestinians, while 6,279 Palestinians are currently imprisoned by Israel.

Number of Political Prisoners Currently Being Held

0 Israelis (one, a Bedouin Muslim) are being held prisoner by Palestinians, while 4,800 Palestinians are currently imprisoned by Israel. (View Sources & More Information)

“Since the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory in 1967, more than 800,000 Palestinians have been detained under Israeli military orders in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). This number constitutes approximately 20 percent of the total Palestinian population in the oPt and as much as 40 percent of the total male Palestinian population… 8,000 Palestinian children have been arrested since 2000.”

Addameer

Last updated: 2/08/2024

Sources

107 Israelis are being held in Gaza (including 2 who entered voluntarily around 2016). Reportedly, more than 3/4 of them are male, a great many of them soldiers. (8 are dual Israeli-American citizens, at least 3 of them soldiers.) There are no children being held at this time. In addition, there are 10 foreign nationals being held. *

OCHA reports: As of February 2024, according to the Israel Prison Service (IPS), there are nearly 9,000 Palestinians in Israeli custody, including 3,484 administrative detainees (39 per cent) held without trial. These figures do not include detainees from the Gaza Strip held by the Israeli military.

Breakdown of Palestinian Prisoners

Type of Prisoner Number of Prisoners
Administrative Detainees 465
Child prisoners 300
Female prisoners 65
Palestinian Legislative Council members 13
East Jerusalem prisoners 480
1948 Territories prisoners 70
Gaza prisoners 322
Prisoners serving life sentences 520
Prisoners serving more than 20 years 43
Prisoners serving more than 25 years 21
Prisoners before Oslo 30

* According to The Times of Israel, Hamas publicly acknowledged, in 2016, that it is holding 2 Israeli citizens. Both entered Gaza voluntarily. The two men have been deemed mentally unstable and are presumed alive by Israeli authorites. One is a Bedouin Muslm and the other an Ethiopean Jew whose family accuses the Israeli government of deliberately neglecting their son and not working for his release because he is black.

Note: Israeli sources include 2 deceased Israeli soldiers whose bodies have not been returned, but neglect the fact that the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians (some of them children) are being held by Israel under specific governmental policies. source, source, source

2023: During the attacks on southern Israel that began October 7, approximately 240 soldiers and civilians were taken prisoner, with the intention to exchange them for Palestinian prisoners.

Israel-Palestine Timeline

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History of the Israel Lobby


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Additional Resources

Amnesty International Report – IDF doctor says Dirani rape claim backed by evidence

Fact Sheet – Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Detention

B’Tselem Fact Sheet – Administrative Detention

Organizations

Defence for Children International, Palestine

Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association

Palestinian Prisoners’ Society

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