A/HRC/34/36 21. On 15 June and 3 July respectively, the Head of the Gaza World Vision office and a United Nations Development Programme contractor were arrested at Erez on allegations of misusing their positions and diverting humanitarian funds to aid military efforts of the AlQassam Brigades. Their respective trials are ongoing. Both defendants experienced delayed access to their lawyers during interrogation and have alleged ill-treatment by Israeli officials during pretrial detention. 22. Almost 800 Palestinians were held in administrative detention between November 2015 and October 2016. That is higher than at any time since early 2008. On the eve of the second intifada (in mid-2000), Israel reportedly held 12 Palestinians in administrative detention.19 Since then, it has become a widespread and systemic practice, with hundreds held without charge or trial every year in breach of article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the principle of the exceptional nature of administrative detention permissible by international law. 20 23. On 13 June 2016, 35-year-old Bilal Kayed began a six-month period of administrative detention. Like almost all others, he was detained on unspecified security grounds on the basis of secret evidence. His case is particularly egregious as he was placed in administrative detention on the day he was due to be released from prison after serving his sentence of 14 years and 6 months. On 15 June, Mr. Kayed started a hunger strike, which he suspended 71 days later after reaching an agreement with the Israeli authorities. He was due to be released in December 2016. Other hunger strikers during the reporting period have included Malek al-Qadi (released on 22 September) and brothers Muhammad and Mahmoud Balbul (due to be released in December 2016). Nine Palestinians remained on hunger strike in Israeli prisons at the time of reporting, including three men who continued to protest against their administrative detention. 24. Instead of taking steps to end the practice of administrative detention, the Government of Israel is taking steps to amend laws to incorporate aspects of such detention and other administrative restrictions from the current emergency regime into regular law. 21 Administrative detention also appears to be increasing with respect to Israeli citizens, 20 of whom were held in the past year. Most were described as Palestinian “terrorists” by the Deputy Attorney General in a Knesset Committee hearing.22 3. Children in detention 25. The arrest of children significantly increased during the reporting period. According to The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 671 Palestinian children were arrested in East Jerusalem alone from November 2015 to September 2016. 23 According to Addameer, 400 children remained in detention at the end of October 2016. 24 26. The practice of holding children in administrative detention also continued. The organization Defence for Children International reported that at least 15 children were held without charge during the reporting period, 6 of whom remained in administrative detention as at 31 October 2016. The detention since 3 December 2015 of 17-year-old Mohammad Hashlamoun from East Jerusalem is emblematic. 25 Accused of planning an attack on Israelis, he was reportedly detained in solitary confinement for 22 days, without access to a 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 6 See www.addameer.org/Campaign/stop-administrative-detention. See www.btselem.org/administrative_detention/statistics. See www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.749400. See www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.750123. Figures provided by UNICEF. See www.addameer.org/statistics. See www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_authorities_detain_palestinian_teen_without_charge.