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This morning, the Israeli military commander in the Gaza Strip ordered the transfer of ‘Ali Farraj Salem Abu Juraida, 26, from Rafah, to administrative detention for a renewable period of six months. Abu Jauraida was arrested on 31 December 2001 at Rafah Border Crossing while on his way back to the Gaza Strip from Egypt. He was interrogated by members of Israeli intelligence services in Ashkelon Prison inside Israel for more than 60 days, during which he was denied visitation by his lawyers for some days and did not confess to any accusations.

Administrative detention violates basic international human rights standards as it does not follow correct judicial procedures and the detainee is barred from his right to a fair trial, from knowing what he is accused of, and from his right to an appropriate defense. Israeli occupation forces have used administrative detention against thousands of Palestinians from the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) since 1967.

This case is the second of its kind in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada on 29 September 2000. On 17 December 2001, ‘Emad El-Din As’ad El-Saftawi was placed under administrative detention after his interrogation, a status which has been continuously renewed at six-month intervals since that time.

PCHR is deeply concerned about the use of this measure and calls upon the international community to pressure Israel to stop this policy adopted against Palestinians, as it violates international human rights and international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. PCHR reiterates that under Articles 49 and 76 of the Convention, Palestinian prisoners arrested by Israeli occupying forces in the OPT cannot be transferred to Israel and repeats its call for the release of all Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails.