On February 3, Israeli military courts issued administrative detention orders – orders for imprisonment without trial or charge – against 20 imprisoned Palestinians, including 14 from Hebron, reported the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society.

16 of these orders renewed existing administrative detention sentences, which are indefinitely renewable and based entirely on secret evidence not available to Palestinians or their lawyers, while 4 were new orders.

The 20 Palestinians being held without charge or trial, and the length of their sentences, are as follows:

1. Adam Taha Abu Sharar of Hebron – 4 months
2. Adham Mohammed Ajlouni of Hebron – 6 months
3. Harbiye Hisham Ajlouni of Hebron – 6 months
4. Mohammed Ibrahim Harizat of Hebron – 6 months
5. Mohammed Anwar Kahoush of Ramallah – 6 months
6. Khalil Mohammed Shawabkeh of Hebron – 6 months
7. Hijazi Ali Qawasmeh from Hebron – 6 months
8. Omar Ahmed Awad of Hebron – 3 months
9. Bassam Ahmad Zarir of Hebron – 4 months
10. Azzedine Shehda Abu Sneineh of Hebron – 6 months
11. Hashim Mahmoud Azzam of Bethlehem – 6 months
12. Ibrahim Abdullah Al-Arouj of Bethlehem – 4 months
13. Mohab Musa Junaidi of Hebron – 6 months
14. Fares Awad Qawasmeh of Hebron – 4 months
15. Khader Khaled Sarkaji of Nablus – 6 months
16. Falah Taher Nada from Ramallah – 2 Months
17. Nur al-Din Abdel-Fattah Qawasmeh of Hebron – 5 months
18. Hani Ziad Alhuarin of Hebron – 6 months
19. Mohammed Hussein Musalema of Hebron – 4 months
20. Mohammed Bassem Sanif of Ramallah – 4 months

Four more Palestinians had their administrative detention orders confirmed in Ofer military court on Thursday, 5 February:

21. Mohammed Abu Juma of Jericho – 4 months
22. Hamza Mosfour of Ramallah – 3 months
23. Yazed Abu al-Hajj of Ramallah – 3 months
24. Khaled Suleiman of Ramallah – 3 months

There are currently 500 Palestinians held in administrative detention, including 28 from Hebron. 17 of them are members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, including Hatem Kufaisheh of Hebron, whose administrative detention order was reduced from four months to two months on 5 February; this is the sixth renewal of his administrative detention.

Administrative detention orders can range from one to six month periods and are indefinitely renewable; Palestinians can spend years in administrative detention, never charged or tried.

The systematic use of arbitrary imprisonment by Israeli forces to punish Palestinians violates international humanitarian law under the Fourth Geneva Convention.