Israel detains 3848 Palestinians, including 881 children in 2012

The Director of the Department of Statistics at the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners, Abdel Nasser Farawana stated that the Israeli occupation authorities have arrested during the year 2012, (3848) Palestinian citizens, including (881) children, (67) women, (11) parliamentarians, and (9) who have been freed in the last exchange deal between Hamas and Israel, in addition to dozens of academics, journalists, teachers, political leaders, and civil community leaders.

Farawana added that (97.7%) a total of (3759) are from the West Bank and Jerusalem, (89) are from the Gaza Strip, most of them fishermen, were arrested at sea.

He indicated that the average arrests during the year 2012 amounted to (321) arrests per month, and approximately (11) cases per day.

Farawana said: that those arrests affected all segments of Palestinian society without discrimination, including the wounded, the sick, the elderly, and has become a daily Israeli practice.

He also stated that the overall arrests are contrary to the principles of the International Law and the International humanitarian Law in terms of the arrests procedures and conditions of detention and places of detention. The Israeli prison authorities subject the Palestinian prisoners to all kinds of physical and psychological torture and humiliation in front of the public and their family members.


Farawana concluded in his report that the term "veteran prisoners" is used to those who have been detained since and before signing of the Oslo Agreement in 4/5/1994, the "deans of prisoners," a term used to those who been held for twenty years and above.

It is documented that Israel practices inhumane policies against Palestinian prisoners:
• mass imprisonment
• Hundreds imprisoned with no charge
• Detaining children
• Regular mistreatment, torture, isolation, deprivation of visits