A classified Israeli army database indicates that the vast majority of the 6,000 Palestinians arrested in Gaza and held in appalling conditions in Israeli detention are civilians, a joint investigation finds.
Only one in four Palestinians captured by Israeli forces in Gaza were identified by the army as militants, with civilians making up the vast majority of “unlawful combatants” detained in Israeli prisons since October 7, a joint investigation by +972 Magazine, Local Call, and the Guardian can reveal.
This is what emerges from figures obtained from a classified database managed by Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate (known by the Hebrew acronym “Aman”), in addition to official Israeli prison statistics disclosed in legal proceedings. Testimonies from former Palestinian detainees and Israeli soldiers who served in detention facilities further indicate that Israel has knowingly abducted civilians en masse and held them for long periods in appalling conditions.
Detention figures cited by the state in May in response to High Court petitions revealed that a total of 6,000 Palestinians had been arrested in Gaza during the first 19 months of the war and held in Israel under a law for incarcerating “unlawful combatants” — a legal tool that allows Israel to imprison people indefinitely, without charge or trial, if there are “reasonable grounds” to believe they participated in “hostile activities against the State of Israel” or that they are a member of a group that has.
Yet data obtained in mid-May from Aman’s database, which intelligence sources described as the only reliable source for determining who the army considers to be active combatants in Gaza, showed that Israel had arrested only 1,450 individuals from the military wings of Hamas and PIJ — meaning around three-quarters of the 6,000 detainees did not belong to either.
Israel’s politicians, military, and media routinely refer to all Palestinian detainees from Gaza as “terrorists,” and the government has not acknowledged detaining or holding any civilians. The Israel Prison Service (IPS) has claimed in public reports, without producing evidence, that almost all the “unlawful combatants” held in Israeli prisons are members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
Yet the data obtained from Aman’s database contradicts these claims, revealing that the vast majority of detainees are civilians. This raises serious questions about the legality and morality of Israel’s detention practices, and calls into question the accuracy and reliability of the information used to justify the mass incarceration of Palestinians.
The findings of this investigation highlight the need for greater transparency and accountability in Israel’s treatment of Palestinian detainees, and underscore the importance of independent oversight to ensure that human rights are upheld in conflict zones.
For more information, you can read the full article here: Israeli intelligence data: Militants account for only 1 in 4 Gaza detainees
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