Palestinian prisoners held without trial are nothing but hostages

A new report by the Palestinian Centre for Prisoner’s Advocacy examines detention policies in the West Bank, in 2025. It particularly looks at administrative detention as a prolonged security control mechanism and explores the structural and social effects of this policy.

Shockingly, administrative detainees are given no charge or trial and evidence against them is secret.

What are these Palestinian prisoners but hostages?

Administrative detention allows individuals to be imprisoned without formal charges or a trial. ‘Evidence’ is based on a secret file that is inaccessible to both the detainee and their lawyer. In the West Bank, this practice is enforced through Israeli military legislation. Military Order 1651, grants military commanders the power to issue detention orders for periods of up to six months that can be renewed indefinitely.

The report claims this policy remains systematic and deeply entrenched. Israeli occupation authorities use it as a method of control and domination, with far-reaching consequences for Palestinian society.

Throughout 2025, administrative detention continued to function as a central pillar of the Israeli detention system. There ha been no meaningful reduction in its application. The number of Palestinian administrative detainees fluctuated between around 3,300 and 3,600 during the year. These consistently high figures demonstrate that administrative detention has become a permanent and structural policy rather than a temporary or exceptional measure.

Vague claims of future ‘security threat’

Detention orders were frequently justified, in 2025, using vague claims of a potential future “security threat” without reference to specific actions or identifiable criminal offences. This severely undermined detainees ability to mount a legal defense, or meaningfully challenge the lawfulness of their detention.

‘Israel’ increasing targeted journalists, writers, and social media influencers under the policy of administrative detention, according to the report. This is most likely due to efforts by the Israeli occupation to control, and influence information going out to the wider public. Administrative detention was imposed on media and intellectual figures without clear charges. This lead to an atmosphere of intimidation, which affected not only the detainees, but the broader Palestinian media and cultural environment.

University students were also a significant target, especially those active in student organisations or public campus activities. This practice represents a direct violation of the right to education and freedom of association. At the same time, it erodes the role of universities as spaces for critical thought, political engagement, and social awareness.

Human rights organisations have strongly criticised the policy of administrative detention, as it violates international fair trial standards. Judicial reviews of administrative detention orders take place behind closed doors. And, these reviews rely on evidence that defense lawyers are prohibited from examining. As a result, judicial oversight becomes ineffective.

No justice for Palestinians in Israel’s military courts

The report also emphasises the role of Israeli military courts in entrenching administrative detention. Although these courts formally conduct reviews of detention orders, they rarely function as an independent oversight mechanism. Instead, they rely almost entirely on security agencies’ narratives and classified materials.

This dynamic transforms the judiciary into a body that legitimizes predetermined security decisions, undermining the right of Palestinians to a fair trial. The routine approval and repeated renewal of detention orders further exposes a systemic failure within the military judicial system. It also contributes to the normalisation of administrative detention as a permanent practice lacking real accountability.

The repeated detention order renewals during administrative detention causes severe psychological, social, and economic harm to detainees and their families. These effects extend to Palestinian society, fuelling instability and breaking any trust Palestinians might have in legal protection or justice.

The report states that ‘Israel’s’ administrative detention policy in the West Bank can no longer be viewed as an exceptional security measure. It has evolved into a long-term, systematic tool embedded within a broader regime of control. And it disproportionately affects the active and influential segments of Palestinian society.

International community must pressure Israeli occupation to establish time frames for detention

The Palestinian Centre for the Defense of Prisoners is calling for an end to administrative detention as a form of arbitrary imprisonment. It urges the occupation to immediately halt the repeated renewal of detention orders on Palestinian administrative detainees, and demands clear and limited timeframes are established for any detention without charge. The Centre stresses the importance of guaranteeing the right to defense and a fair trial. This includes full access for detainees and their lawyers to all evidence used against them.

The Centre is demanding concrete and effective action to pressure ‘Israel’ to end this policy. It highlights the importance of strengthening documentation and accountability efforts.  Administrative detention, including the role of the military judiciary in sustaining it, must be treated as a systematic policy by the international community, requiring legal consequences. Ending its use is essential to safeguarding the dignity and fundamental rights of the Palestinian people.

Featured image via author