Released Palestinian prisoners highlight Israeli detention system's controversial tactics

Many were Palestinian teenagers, some detained for throwing stones or incendiary devices. Others were women jailed for crimes including attempted murder or manufacturing knives and daggers. 

Some had murkier offenses attached to their names on government lists of those released this week, such as “state security” or “damage to the security area.”

They’re among the Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli custody during the weeklong cease-fire in exchange for the release of hostages in Gaza who were taken by Hamas during its deadly Oct. 7 attack. An agreement, brokered by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, traded prisoners for each freed hostage.

The prisoners’ high-profile releases brought renewed attention to the experiences of Palestinians subject to military arrests in the West Bank, including some who are held under administrative detention. That system, a measure aimed at preventing future crimes, allows people to be held without charges, trial or access to the allegations against them.

Israel has long argued it’s a necessary tactic to prevent credible threats from militants and protect sensitive intelligence. But the practice has been criticized by human rights groups that say it denies people due process.

The releases, which apparently ended as the cease-fire collapsed, came amid a rising number of new detentions since the war began. On Friday, new data showed the number of administrative detentions has increased sharply and now stands at 2,873 – rising by more than 800 in November alone, far more than the prisoners who were released.

More than 3,000 Palestinians have been arrested since Oct. 7, the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said in a statement on Friday.

In all, 240 Palestinian prisoners had been released to secure the return of more than 100 mostly Israeli hostages. The Israeli government had published a list of the Palestinian prisoners eligible for release. One human rights group said only a small number of prisoners Israel deemed eligible had been held administratively. 

The Palestinians were identified on lists released daily by the Israeli government. But beneath the details of who those prisoners are – and why they were detained – lay complex tensions that long predate the current war.

Palestinian prisoners freed in Ramallah, West Bank

The prisoner returns drew daily crowds in the West Bank town of Ramallah to meet buses carrying the latest groups from Israeli prisons.

Fadia Barghouti, a resident of Deir Ghassana in the West Bank who works as an English teacher, joined the crowd Thursday to welcome an extended family relative, Suhair Barghouti, 64.   

The Palestinian Prisoners Society, a nongovernmental rights group, said Suhair Barghouti was held in administrative detention and denied access to medication, the New York Times reported, noting that her husband was a high-profile prisoner for decades.

The daily log released by the Israeli government lists her offense as simply, “national security – other.”

Fadia Barghouti said her 22-year-old son is among relatives still behind bars under administrative detention. 

She says her son, a quiet computer engineering student, is no militant. She thinks he was detained weeks earlier because of his association with a Hamas-affiliated student group at college.

The U.S. designates Hamas as a terrorist organization, as do a number of other countries. It has a military wing but also acts as a separate political entity that operates government services in Gaza.

USA TODAY could not independently verify her claims about Barghouti's son.

Why does Israel have so many Palestinian prisoners?

The lists include a variety of other offenses, as serious as attempted murder, or as a note that simply reads “gathering or association.” They do not denote whether the offenses led to charges or convictions.

Some detainees are shown with an “organizational affiliation,” listing groups Israel considers illegal terrorist organizations, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Many others on the list do not show any affiliated organizations. 

Jessica Montell, head of Israeli human rights organization HaMoked, said about two-thirds of more than 300 prisoners listed by Israel as eligible for exchange for hostages had not yet been sentenced but were in some stage of court proceedings, such as awaiting trial. 

And she said it appeared that roughly 10% of the more than 300 prisoners listed by Israel as eligible for exchange for hostages were being held on administrative detention. In some such instances, the person's offense is listed with a vague term such as endangering the security of the area, she said.

But Montell said the number of Palestinians in administrative detention was already growing even before the war.

But since then, administrative detainees grew from 1,319 on Oct. 1 to 2,873 by Dec. 1, according to the group, citing data from the Israel Prison Service. Such detainees now constitute more than one-third of Palestinians incarcerated by Israel.

That rise comes amid increased arrests by the Israeli military of people in West Bank towns and refugee camps suspected of being active in Hamas, she said.

On Friday, the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said it was “seriously concerned at the recent dramatic growth in the number of Palestinians arrested and detained by Israeli security forces across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”

Among its concerns are what it said were many instances of arrests without any direct evidence of the commission of an offense. The office also cited concern about alleged abuses of some prisoners and poor prison conditions.

The Red Cross last month warned that escalating violence and road blockages in the West Bank severely restricted access to livelihoods. Since Oct. 7, more than 100 Palestinians, including children, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers, according to the United Nations. 

Montell, whose group helps Palestinian families seeking information on relatives held in administrative detention, has been seeing signs of its increasing use for weeks.

Calls from family members seeking information have grown five-fold in recent weeks, she said. 

Deeper tensions in West Bank

B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, has said the proactive detention infringes on due process and makes it difficult for attorneys to mount a defense. 

While it’s possible to appeal detentions, which usually are set for six months but can be extended indefinitely, the group said that Israeli military courts rarely nullify detention orders. 

It’s part of a wider concern among residents over the justice system in the West Bank, a territory controlled by the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority. Palestinians there fall under military jurisdiction while civil courts have jurisdiction over Israeli settlers.

Some analysts say support for Hamas has increased in the West Bank and Gaza since the start of the war.

While Israel’s hard-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has likened celebrations of returning Palestinian prisoners to celebrating terrorism, news reports from the West Bank showed emotional moments as prisoners returned amid shouts for Hamas.

Among the Palestinian prisoners released, virtually all were women and children, according to an Associated Press count.

Among those released was a 14-year-old Ahmad Slaimah, who CNN reported had never been sentenced for a crime. His father, Nayef Slaimah, said he was grateful for his son's release after he lost all contact with him after Oct. 7, CNN reported.

"When Ahmad was in prison, we couldn’t visit him,” his father said. 

Crowds also gathered earlier this week for the return of a high-profile Palestinian activist who was arrested three weeks ago after a social media post promising to slaughter Israeli settlers. The family of Ahed Tamimi, 22, has said the post was written by an imposter. 

Tamimi became a symbol of Palestinian resistance six years ago when she spent eight months in jail for slapping and kicking an Israeli soldier after her cousin was shot with a rubber bullet during a protest.

Whether the cease-fire can be reopened to release more hostages and prisoners remains unclear.

After the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas expired Friday, the Israeli military announced it had resumed combat in Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces accused Hamas of violating the truce by firing toward Israel. About 30 minutes after the truce expired, the Israeli military said its fighter jets were striking Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier Friday, there had been no word from mediators in Qatar on another extension to again pause the violence that has killed thousands and left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins in the weeks after the Hamas attack on Israel that left more than 1,000 dead.

Israel says about 137 people are still held hostage, 117 of which are men. Several dozen are soldiers. Talks are expected to become more difficult with fewer women and children hostages left in Gaza.

Meantime, Fadia Barghouti said she was hopeful that talks would continue and lead eventually to a lasting cease-fire and ultimately a path to peaceful existence – and her son’s eventual release.

“I hope that we will hear of a very long truce or a ceasefire with a fair solution for all,” she said. “We're looking for the end of this suffering.”