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A shocking report by the Palestine Center for Prisoner Studies has exposed the harsh reality of the Israeli prison system. According to the report, during the year 2025, Israeli occupation authorities issued more than 7,715 administrative detention orders, under which Palestinians were sent directly to prison without any charges, trial, or being presented before a court.
The report states that administrative detention is no longer an exceptional legal measure, but has become an organized and widespread policy of repression against Palestinians. Thousands of people are being held on the basis of secret intelligence files, the contents of which are disclosed neither to the detainees nor to their lawyers. All of these files are overseen by Israel’s intelligence agency, Shin Bet.
According to Riyad Al-Ashqar, director and researcher at the Center, this policy has accelerated at an unprecedented rate since the war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023. Since that time, more than 17,000 administrative detention orders have been issued. Many detainees have had their detention repeatedly renewed, keeping them imprisoned for up to three years without any legal conviction or sentence.
Mass arrests across the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem have further worsened the situation. Currently, more than 3,400 administrative detainees are being held in Israeli prisons, making up about 35 percent of the total 9,500 prisoners. Before the war, this number was only 1,300, meaning the number of people held under administrative detention has nearly tripled.
The report says that this policy has engulfed every segment of Palestinian society. Students, teachers, social activists, women, and elected representatives—even children have not been spared. At present, around 80 children under the age of 18 are being held under administrative detention.
In many cases, release has no longer meant freedom. According to Al-Ashqar, a large number of detainees are re-arrested immediately upon release under new administrative detention orders. Some have even been kept in prison despite having completed their court sentences.
This policy has also been applied to Palestinians released under recent prisoner exchange agreements. Many former detainees—who had spent years in prison—were detained again shortly after their release and served with new administrative detention orders.
The report also reveals that the official count of administrative detainees does not even include more than 1,200 prisoners from Gaza, whom Israel labels as “unlawful combatants” and holds without charges, without trial, and without any time limit. Under international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, these civilians are entitled to legal protection.
However, after last year’s prisoner exchange agreement, the number of detainees in this category decreased, when more than 2,000 prisoners from Gaza were released. Earlier, Israel had reported that the number of such detainees was over 2,800, while many people are still forcibly reported as missing.
Riyad Al-Ashqar accused that administrative detention has become a weapon in Israel’s hands, through which Palestinians are deprived of their lives in prison without any legal process. He stated that because of the secret charges, detainees neither know the accusations against them nor can they defend themselves, effectively denying them any right to a fair trial.
According to the report, 11 administrative detainees have died in Israeli custody so far. The most recent case is that of Sakhir Zaoul from Bethlehem, whose death occurred due to medical negligence—a death that raises serious questions about the entire policy.