Israel arrested more than 2,700 Palestinians in 2008, report says

[Ma'anImages]

Gaza – Ma'an – Israel has arrested more than 2,700 Palestinians, most of them in the West Bank, so far this year, the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners and Former Prisoners Affairs in the Hamas-run de facto government in the Gaza Strip said on Monday.

In a report about detainees, the de facto government said that 255 children under age 18 have been arrested as well as 14 women. There were medical patients, senior citizens, national movement leaders and mayors among those arrested.

The Hebron district of the southern West Bank, the report says, claimed the singe largest share of the arrests, with 700 people detained in 2008.

Six hundred of the detainees came from the Gaza Strip.

Director of the information department in the de facto Prisoners Ministry, Riyad Al-Ashqar says that 28 Israeli jails and detention centers are full of Palestinian prisoners. He said that the total number of Palestinian detainees in Israel's custody exceeded 11,700.

The report also said that Israel is increasing the use of administrative detention, under which prisoners can be held with out charge or trial virtually indefinitely.

In the case of Mahmoud Al-Masalma from the West Bank village of Beit 'Awwa, Israeli authorities renewed his detention 19 consecutive times with out indicting or trying him.

Israeli courts have issued more than 1300 administrative detention orders, including first time detention and renewal of detention, this year. The total number of Palestinian prisoners held in administrative detention is more than 1100.