August 07, 2016•Update: August 08, 2016
By Ola Atallah
GAZA CITY, Palestine
A total of 750 Palestinians are being held in “administrative detention” in Israel, a Palestinian NGO said Sunday.
In a statement, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said that three Palestinian lawmakers were among those held in administrative detention in Israeli jails.
“Israeli authorities...are using this kind of detention as a means of collective punishment,” the statement said.
The rights group, meanwhile, voiced deep concern over the health condition of Palestinian detainee Bilal Kayed, who has entered his 54th day on hunger strike to protest his administrative detention.
Kayed was arrested by the Israeli authorities in 2002 and sentenced to 14-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of being a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
He was slated for release on June 13 of this year, but the Israeli authorities -- citing "secret evidence" -- extended his detention for a further six months.
Under Israel's "administrative detention" policy, prisoners can be held for up to one year without charge or trial.
Over 7,000 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli prisons, according to official Palestinian figures.
