Palestinian Arbitrary Detentions Rise Amid Legal Shifts

RAMALLAH, West Bank: For Shady Abu Sedo, a 35-year-old photojournalist from Gaza, time lost all meaning during his seven-month detention in Israeli prisons. Arrested in March 2024 while working at Al-Shifa hospital, he described being held for 100 days in conditions where he was "handcuffed, blindfolded, forbidden to speak," with no sense of day or night.

"You don't know the time, you don't know the days, you don't know where you are," Abu Sedo told reporters after his release in October under the US-brokered ceasefire. The father said he was able to speak with his lawyer only twice during his incarceration and suffered eye and ear injuries from what he described as torture.

Abu Sedo's case reflects a broader pattern of increased detentions under Israel's amended "unlawful combatants" law, revised at the start of the Gaza war. The legislation, originally introduced in 2002, denies protections typically granted to detainees and prisoners of war, permitting the detention of suspected members of "hostile forces" for extended periods without charge.

The legal changes come amid escalating tensions in the occupied Palestinian territories. In October alone, Israeli forces detained 442 Palestinians throughout the West Bank, including Jerusalem, according to Palestinian prisoners' organisations.

According to joint reports from the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoner's Society, and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, most October detentions occurred in the Bethlehem governorate and included 3 women and 33 children.

The organisations reported last week that over 9,250 prisoners and detainees are in Israeli occupation prisons, mostly held without charge or trial. Under the revised legislation, detention without court hearing extended from 14 to 75 days, renewable to 180 days, while administrative detention increased from 96 hours to 45 days.

"After 100 days of torture, they took me for interrogation to confirm my identity. They tortured me without knowing who I was," said Shady Abu Sedo, 35, photojournalist from Gaza, speaking from the West Bank after his release.

"For these detainees, the lawyer is their only connection to the outside world," said Naji Abbas of Physicians for Human Rights in Jerusalem, noting that "it takes months to get an appointment" for legal visits.

"The legislation serves to arbitrarily round up Palestinian civilians from Gaza and toss them into a virtual black hole for prolonged periods," stated Amnesty International in a July 2024 report demanding the law's repeal.

The detention practices have drawn international criticism and affected diplomatic relations. In late October, Israel banned the International Committee of the Red Cross from visiting prisoners held as "unlawful combatants," a move several rights groups have challenged in Israel's Supreme Court.

The issue has also sparked controversy in international media, with Italian news agency Nova facing condemnation after dismissing a journalist who questioned the European Commission about Israel's responsibility for Gaza reconstruction costs.

Legal experts warn the situation could violate multiple UN conventions, including the Fourth Geneva Convention's protections for civilians in occupied territories. Several NGOs have appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court to grant Red Cross access to "unlawful combatants," though no decision date has been set.

"As these detention practices continue without independent monitoring, they risk further undermining the credibility of legal processes in the region," said a UN human rights official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Proper judicial oversight and international monitoring remain essential under international humanitarian law."

Palestine | Legal, Human Rights, Israel | |