A/HRC/34/38 including members of Fatah and former personnel of the Palestinian Authority, with cases of incommunicado detention reported, including by armed groups. 126 55. Human rights law guarantees to everyone the right to liberty and security. This implies that no one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest or detention, and that any deprivation of liberty should occur on the basis of legal grounds and follow strict procedures as established by law. 127 Detainees should be promptly charged or released. Administrative detention is only permitted in exceptional circumstances and should never be used as an alternative to criminal proceedings. 128 Stringent safeguards should be applied to prevent arbitrary detention, including basic procedural guarantees, such as the rights to be informed promptly and fully of the reasons for the detention, to take proceedings before a court, to challenge the legal basis of the detention and to be presumed innocent. Breaches should give rise to compensation.129 56. The way that Israel makes use of administrative detention often leads to indefinite detention without charge. Hearings for administrative detainees are often conducted in closed session, with detainees regularly held on the basis of secret evidence to which neither they nor their lawyers are given access. That practice has been widely condemned, including by the Secretary-General, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Human Rights Committee, all of whom have called for its end. 130 In addition, such practice is inconsistent with the exceptional nature of detention provided by international humanitarian law. 131 Most administrative detainees are held in Israel, in violation of the prohibition of forcible transfer.132 Arrest and detention of children 57. Each year hundreds of Palestinian children, some as young as 12 years of age, are arrested and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system. Charges usually involve stonethrowing and, more recently, incitement to violence based on social media posts. 58. The number of children in detention has more than doubled in the past year.133 The peak figure of 440 children held in Israeli detention at the end of February 2016 was the highest number of detained children since January 2008. 134 Administrative detention of children resumed in October 2015, a practice not seen since December 2011.135 There are concerns as to whether child detention is being used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period, as required by human rights law. 136 59. The fact that Israeli military law applicable in the West Bank permits the detention of Palestinian children from the age of 12 years is at odds with the specific protection granted to children as members of a particularly vulnerable group and the general rule that any decision affecting them must have their best interest as a primary consideration. 137 60. A number of legal developments also appear to target children in East Jerusalem in contravention of international standards. 138 In August 2016, the Knesset approved amendments to the Israeli youth law that make it possible for prison sentences to be issued for children aged between 12 and 14 years for specific, serious crimes. 139 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 A/HRC/34/36. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 9, and Human Rights Committee general comment No. 35 (2014) on liberty and security of person, para. 15. Ibid. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 9. See A/HRC/28/80, para. 33. Fourth Geneva Convention, art. 78. Fourth Geneva Convention, arts. 49 and 147. See A/HRC/31/40, para. 43. See A/HRC/34/36, para. 24. See A/71/364, para. 36. See A/HRC/31/40, para. 41, and A/71/364, para. 34. Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 37 (b). Ibid., art. 3 (1). See A/HRC/31/40, paras. 49-51. See A/HRC/34/36, para. 29. 13