Almost 800 Palestinians held by Israel in ‘unlawful’ detention, claim rights groups

That is the highest number in over a decade and among those detained include children, say the rights organisations

Palestinian prisoners walk at the yard of Megiddo prison where administrative detainees are held (AFP via Getty Images)

Israel is holding nearly 800 Palestinians, including seven children, without trial or charges, the highest number in almost 15 years, according to rights groups and United Nations officials who have claimed the practice is unlawful and “amounts to serious and degrading treatment”.

Israeli rights group HaMoked, which regularly gathers figures from Israeli prisons, told The Independent that Israel was holding 798 Palestinians in administrative detention, the highest number since May 2008.

Among the prisoners – who can be held indefinitely without trial, sometimes for years – are two women and seven minors, the youngest aged just 16, the group added.