Around 7,000 Palestinian prisoners are currently behind bars in Israel, the Palestinian Ministry for Prisoners and Freed Prisoners reported on Tuesday.
The ministry explained that the number of Palestinian detainees is expected to rise as Israeli arrest campaigns continue on a daily basis, and have become a disturbing phenomenon.
The arrest campaigns have increased in recent weeks, especially after the disappearance of three settlers in Hebron last June.
The ministry pointed out that 84.8 per cent of the prisoners were those who lived in the West Bank, while 9.5 per cent were residents of Jerusalem or the 1948 territories, the rest being from Gaza Strip, who account for about 7.5 per cent. Palestinian prisoners are being held in 18 different Israeli jails and detention centers across the country, the ministry added. Around 60 Palestinians who were released in 2011 as part of the Shalit swap were re-arrested during the arrest campaigns, in addition to 15 other detainees who were also released as part of the deal but were re-arrested before the latest campaign of arrests began.
The ministry expressed concern over the 1,500 prisoners in Israeli prisons who suffer from medical neglect and poor health care. Fourteen of these detainees are almost permanently housed in Alramlah hospital in very poor medical conditions even though they are suffering from life-threatening diseases such as cancer, heart and lung diseases, stomach and intestinal disorders, nervous disorders, diabetes, high blood pressure, vascular diseases, and diseases affecting the eyes, chest, liver, glands and kidneys, and amnesia.
Data from the ministry also indicated that 205 prisoners died while in detention since 1967 as a result of torture, or medical negligence, or were simply shot by soldiers and guards while in prison.