Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails increased 130% after October 7

A Palestinian official said the number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails since October 7 has increased by 130 percent.

Speaking to Anadolu, Qaddoura Fares, head of the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority, described the situation of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails as "catastrophic and extremely dangerous."

He noted that the detainees are exposed to torture and systematic assaults, and that "the journey of torture starts from the moment of storming into the house and assaulting the detainee and the family, and sabotaging the house properties."

He said the past winter was the most difficult winter season for the detainees as the Israeli prison authorities deprived them of proper clothes and blankets, as well as regularly stripping them of their clothes.

The Palestinian official added that the number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails before October 7 was nearly 5 ,000, but now the number is expected to reach 12,000, including the detainees from Gaza.

"Nobody knows the number of detainees from Gaza, these are just expectations, but what is documented of detainees in Israeli jails reaches 9,500," Fares added.

He noted that among the detainees, there are some 80 women, over 200 children, and nearly 4,000 held under Israeli administrative detention without charge or trial.

Over 9,500 detainees in Israeli jails

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.