Al Jazeera Mubasher - 18/7/2024

Amnesty International has called on Israeli authorities to stop holding Palestinians from the occupied Gaza Strip in indefinite, incommunicado detention without charge or trial under the "Unlawful Combatants Law," a blatant violation of international law.

A recent report by Amnesty documented cases of 27 released Palestinian detainees, including five women, 21 men, and a 14-year-old child, who were detained for up to four and a half months without being allowed contact with lawyers or family members.

All individuals interviewed by Amnesty stated that Israeli military, intelligence, or police forces subjected them to torture and various forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment while in incommunicado detention, with some cases amounting to enforced disappearance.

The report explained that the "Unlawful Combatants Law" grants sweeping powers to the Israeli military, allowing it to detain anyone from Gaza suspected of engaging in hostile acts against Israel or posing a security threat, for renewable periods of indefinite detention without requiring evidence to substantiate such allegations.

Secret Detention Facility in the Negev Desert
The report highlighted the existence of a secret prison in the Negev Desert where Palestinian detainees endure severe torture.

Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, stated:
"While international humanitarian law permits the detention of individuals under occupation for imperative security reasons, safeguards must exist to prevent indefinite or arbitrary detention and to prohibit torture and ill-treatment."

She added:
"Our documentation reveals that Israeli authorities are using the Unlawful Combatants Law to arbitrarily detain Palestinian civilians from Gaza en masse and imprison them for extended periods without presenting any evidence that they pose a security threat, and without adhering to the minimum due process guarantees."

Agnès Callamard urged Israeli authorities to abolish this law immediately and release those arbitrarily detained under its provisions.

The Amnesty report emphasized that Israel is obligated under international law to ensure humane treatment for all detainees, including those suspected of affiliation with armed groups, and to allow them access to lawyers and international monitoring bodies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Israel’s Prison Service informed the Center for the Defense of the Individual that, as of July 1, 2024, 1,402 Palestinians were detained under the Unlawful Combatants Law. This figure excludes those held for the initial 45-day period permitted by the law for detaining Palestinians from Gaza without a formal order.