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17 PALESTINIAN ADMINISTRATIVE DETAINEES BEGIN HUNGER STRIKE: DETAINEES CONTINUE BOYCOTT OF MILITARY COURTS AND HOLD DEMONSTRATIONS IN PRISON

Seventeen Palestinian administrative detainees in the Ashmoret/Kfar Yona prison in Israel began an open-ended hunger strike on Sunday. The detainees demand an improvement in their conditions, an immediate transfer to the Megiddo prison to join the rest of the 280 administrative detainees, and their ultimate release.

Yesterday, the Palestinian administrative detainees in the Megiddo prison reported that the situation is extremely tense. Increasingly frustrated about their isolation from their families and the Palestinian community during the current crises and for the summary and arbitrary extensions of their detentions, the detainees feel that their situation has become intolerable.

Almost daily, new administrative detainees arrive at Megiddo. Once caught up in the cycle of administrative detention, the detainees cannot know when they will be released. Today, more than half of the detainees are completing their second and third extensions. Approximately 1/4 of the detainees have been in detention for more than a year.

Since August, the detainees have boycotted the military courts because of their ineffectiveness in reviewing the actions of the Israeli security services ("Shabak"). In addition, the detainees have organized protest activities inside the jail. Yesterday, when Imad Sabi's detention was extended for the second time, the detainees stood in unison by the prison fence, with signs and slogans stating, "Let us go", "Stop extending our detentions", "We want real courts." They did the same last Wednesday, September 25, when Dirar al-Aza's and Ibrahim Shaqarna's detentions were also extended for six months. On Friday, September 27, the detainees held a one-day hunger strike in solidarity with the Palestinian community, under siege by Israeli military forces.

Administrative detention is a legal euphemism for long-term imprisonment without trial. Not one of the detainees has been tried or convicted of any offense. Rather they are being held for their political opinions critical of the Oslo agreements: views held today by many Palestinians and Israelis and even prominent members of the Israeli government. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, an occupying power may use administrative detention in extreme circumstances when no other preventive measures are available; as a short-term "quick fix" measure to prevent hostilities from escalating further. Under international law administrative detention must never be used on a long-term basis to suppress political activity - as in the case of the Israeli policy.

The Israeli security apparatus is quietly exploiting the limits of their powers by continuing to administratively detain Palestinians without trial. The case of Mufid Nazaal, 38 from Qabatya provides a good example. Two weeks ago Mufid finished a three year prison sentence and was about to return to his wife and children. On the last day of his sentence, the Shabak handed him a six-month administrative detention order.

The issue of the administrative detainees is another time-bomb facing the Israelis. As it becomes more clear that their release dates remain entirely uncertain, the detainees are considering further action to end this cycle of political oppression. LAWE - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment calls on the Israeli government to release all the administrative detainees immediately in order to avoid a potential explosion in the Israeli prisons, and as a confidence-building measure to decrease tensions in the area.

Write to the following and ask for the immediate release of the detainees: Deputy Major General Daniel Reisner -Judge Advocate General's Office, Ministry of Defense - Haqirya Tel Aviv, fax: 972-3-569-3320

LAWE - the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organization, dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. LAWE is also an affiliate member of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights.