Israel places released Palestinian under administrative detention

ANKARA/RAMALLAH, Palestine

Israeli authorities have re-arrested a Palestinian man who was released in a January prisoner swap deal with Hamas and placed him under administrative detention, a joint statement by the Palestinian Prisoners Society and the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs said Sunday.

The statement said that a six-month administrative detention order was issued against Wail al-Jaoub, a resident of Nablus, who was detained again on May 6 and subjected to interrogation.

Al-Jaoub was first imprisoned in 1992 and served six years.

He was detained again in 2001 and subjected to several periods of solitary confinement.

He was released in January under the Hamas-Israel prisoner exchange deal.

The statement noted that 12 Palestinians released in the most recent prisoner swap have been re-arrested so far, with five of them now held under administrative detention.

While not a new policy, re-arresting released prisoners was described as a clear violation of the agreement and a message that such individuals remain under constant Israeli scrutiny.

Since the war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, at least 17,100 Palestinians have been arrested or detained in the West Bank and thousands more in Gaza.

Israel frequently uses administrative detention, particularly against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, holding individuals from one to six months without charge and extending detention up to five years through military court orders citing security concerns without disclosing evidence.

The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 53,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.