The Israeli non-governmental human rights organization "HaMoked" said that Israel broke the record recorded 30 years ago for administrative detention of Palestinians, reaching 1,264 people.

The English-language Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post quoted that organization as saying that there had not been such a large number of Palestinians administratively detained since the first intifada in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The Human Rights NGO has received new data from the Israel Prison Service, which shows that the number of administrative detainees broke the last record of 1,108 in March 2003 at the height of the second intifada.

There had not been this many Palestinians in administrative detention since the first intifada in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In February, the HaMoked Center said earlier that the Israeli army had broken its record of administrative detention of Palestinians dating back some 20 years to the 2002-2003 Second Intifada era.

But since then, the numbers have increased even more. Even during the last years of the second intifada and during the knife uprising 2015-2016, the number of administrative detainees was more than 700.

And in the quieter years over the past two decades, the numbers have usually been less than 200 to 300 at a time. And in the mid-1990s, at the height of the Oslo peace talks, the number dropped to single digits.

The practice of administrative detention raises international criticism

Over the years, the United States has sometimes, and regularly Europe, criticized Israel for its use of administrative detention and other methods such as night arrests of Palestinian minors.

However, there are many other things that concern the United States and Europe regarding the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, from new settlement construction, to incitement against the Palestinians by some of his coalition partners, to judicial reform, and administrative detention may be the least of their concerns.

“This is mass arbitrary detention,” said Executive Director Jessica Montell. “Israel has been holding more than 1,200 Palestinians without charge or trial, some for years, without effective judicial review.”

Montell also noted that overall prison numbers had decreased, with administrative detainees now making up a staggering quarter of all Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Administrative detention may not be valid in the eyes of the United States, Europe, and much of the human rights community because it abbreviates standard criminal procedures and rights.

For example, defense lawyers do not have access to classified evidence, the disclosure of which could expose Israeli intelligence sources and methods. But it still includes judicial procedures, all secret evidence is seen by judges, and most detainees are held for three to 12 months, not forever.

The Israeli army responded that “the volume of administrative detainees is a result of the security risk posed by each individual detainee,” adding that in addition to information about this risk pertaining to the individual detainee, the defense establishment also takes into account the security situation in the West Bank.

More Israeli civilians were killed by Palestinian attacks in 2023, approaching 40, than in any year since the second intifada nearly 20 years ago. From 2019 to 2021, only about a third of the number of Israelis were killed compared to the first eight months of 2023.

Furthermore, the Israeli army  said that "the use of administrative detention is limited to cases in which the security forces have reliable and basic information indicating that there is a tangible danger to security posed by the detainee and where there is no alternative" to avoid the danger.

The Israeli army said, "Each case of administrative detention includes ... a judicial process by military courts during which information that forms the basis of the detention is objectively reviewed."

The Israeli  said judicial procedures for administrative detention were serious and decisions could be appealed to the High Court of Justice.

Some of Israel's allies have criticized the killing of about 150 Palestinians by the Israeli army in the West Bank in 2022, a significant rise compared to previous years, a trend that is continuing and is likely to reach higher numbers by the end of 2023.

The issue of administrative detention may also receive special attention from the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, both of which place Israel in their crosshairs.