Israeli media: Government renews order barring Gaza detainees from seeing a lawyer
The Israeli government has renewed an emergency order preventing Palestinians detained in Gaza from accessing a lawyer, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. “The regulation will be valid for an additional three months, and will allow the state to prevent prisoners from meeting with a lawyer for up to 180 days,” the outlet reported on Tuesday.
The article states that the Knesset also approved the first reading of an extension of another order from National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir that seeks to “degrade the conditions” of Palestinian prisoners.
Israel forbids medical staff from talking to UN group investigating October 7 attack
Israel’s Ministry of Health instructed doctors and medics not to cooperate with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, The Times of Israel reports.
Israeli authorities say the commission of inquiry formed by UN Human Rights Council in 2021 is biased. The findings of the commission’s probe will be presented to the council in June and to the UN General Assembly in October.
At least 8,800 Palestinians in Israeli prisons: Rights group
The Palestinian Prisoners Society says that there is scant information about the numbers of people detained in Gaza, which means that the number is probably higher. Amany Sarahneh, a spokesperson for the group, said that in Israeli prisons there are 90 women, 53 of whom are from Gaza, and 166 children.
Approximately 3,290 are under administrative detention without trial or evidence, with the possibility of being held indefinitely, and 559 have been sentenced to life in prison, Sarahneh said.
“In 2023, more than 11,000 people were detained, making it the highest number recorded since the second Intifada of 2000, where an average of 15,000 were detained per year,” she told Al Jazeera.
Another 35 Palestinians detained in latest West Bank raids
According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli forces arrested:
- 16 people in Hebron
- Six, including two former prisoners, in Jenin
- Two in Qalqilya
- 11, including one minor, in Ramallah
In total, Israel has detained more than 5,800 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since October 7.
Palestinian Foreign Ministry calls for placing Israeli settler organisations on ‘terror’ lists
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has called for Israeli settler organisations to be placed on “international terrorism lists” to prevent them from expanding the occupation of Palestinian lands. “The aim is to link the international and American stance rejecting the terrorism of settler militias with sanctions to compel Israel to dismantle and disarm them,” it said in a statement.
Settler violence against Palestinians was intensifying even before the war, but has significantly expanded since October 7. The ministry previously blamed ultranationalist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar “Ben-Gvir’s terrorist elements” as the main reason behind this.
Settlers using fog of Gaza war to take over Jordan Valley: Expert
Aref Daraghmeh, who specialises in Israeli violations in the Jordan Valley, says there are more than 42 settlements and outposts as well as 26 military training camps peppering the area. “Since October 7, settler attempts at landgrab have intensified with the help of Israeli authorities and the army, leading to the displacement of 30 Palestinian families,” he told Al Jazeera.
“In the last two months, 60 settler attacks have been documented, mainly against herders. Settlers have also been fencing off private Palestinian land to take over and preventing farmers from tending to their land,” Daraghmeh said.
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