Over 9,500 detainees in Israeli jails: Palestinian groups

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - More than 9,500 Palestinian detainees are held in Israeli prisons, prisoners’ affairs groups said on Tuesday.

The detainees include 80 women and more than 200 children, the Commission of Detainees' Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoner Society and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association said in a joint statement marking the Palestinian Prisoner’s Day, which falls on April 17.

“This figure does not include Palestinians held by Israeli forces in Gaza,” the statement said.

Among the detainees are 3,660 Palestinians held without trial or charge under Israel’s notorious policy of administrative detention, the statement said.

“More than 40 children and 20 women are held administratively without trial or charge,” it added.

There are 56 journalists held in Israeli jails, including four women reporters, the statement said.

Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank amid ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, which left more than 33,800 people dead since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 468 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army fire in the West Bank since then, according to the Health Ministry.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul