Detention and incarceration systems

Fewer than 15% of security inmates held in IPS facilities, almost all of whom are Palestinians, are convicted offenders serving a prison sentence. More than half of the 9,384 inmates (according to figures from early May 2026) are being held without trial, charges or a fixed release date, either as administrative detainees or under the Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law. Among the inmates are children, patients, women, elderly people and medical staff.

For ongoing updates on the number of Palestinian inmates held by the Israel Prison Service:

HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual: “Security” inmates held in prisons in Israel

Detainees under the Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law

Thousands of Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip have been detained under the Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law, 2002, since October 7, 2023. According to figures from HaMoked – Center for the Defence of the Individual, in May 2026, Israel was holding 1,283 detainees under this law in IPS facilities. The number of detainees currently held under this law in military prison facilities is unknown.

The number of inmates in military facilities has dropped significantly after the release of approximately 2,000 detainees as part of the ceasefire agreement that entered into effect in October 2025. However, in December 2025, according to an update by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), the State notified the HCJ that it had continued detaining Palestinian Gaza residents under this law after the agreement entered into effect.

Importantly, unlike in IPS facilities, there is no external oversight of incarceration conditions, treatment of prisoners, or prisoner health in military facilities. Additionally, while the IPS is required to release incarceration figures, the military does not release information about military prison facilities.

The law was originally designed to regulate the detention of individuals who are not Israeli citizens suspected of being combatants affiliated with armed organizations and is typically applied to individuals apprehended outside of Israeli territory. By using the unlawful combatant designation, the law denies detainees rights conferred by international law on civilians and prisoners of war. Since October 7, 2023, the law has been amended several times and, according to its current wording (Hebrew) as of April 2026, it allows holding a detainee for 25 days (15 days for minors) without a formal incarceration order by a military authority noting the cause of the arrest, up to 40 days (25 days for minors) before being brought before a judge, and up to 25 days before being allowed legal counsel. Judicial reviews are conducted via video conferences, sometimes using a cell phone held by a soldier. These conditions do not allow for reasonable communication with the detainee and preclude their counsel and the judge from assessing their physical condition. Contrary to past practices, families of detainees are not informed of the arrest or place of incarceration, and ICRC representatives are not permitted to visit detention facilities.

Once a detention order is issued under this law, it remains valid indefinitely, as long as a judge approves its extension every six months, without any requirement to file an indictment. Detainees and their legal counsel are not given an opportunity to review the evidence that ostensibly justifies their incarceration. In the context of post–October 7 detentions, this has amounted to many months in conditions that put the health and lives of detainees at risk. A petition (Hebrew), filed by human rights organizations arguing that the law gravely and disproportionately infringes on the rights to liberty, due process, and legal representation, is still pending.

The release of thousands of Palestinians before the ceasefire agreement who were detained under the Unlawful Combatants Law and never indicted, as well as information leaked from Israeli military intelligence and reported by +972, indicates that the law often serves as a tool for excessive, collective, and unjustified arrests.

Further reading:

The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel: HCJ – Unlawful Combatants, press release, January 6, 2026

Local Call, Yuval Abraham: Israeli intelligence data: Militants account for only 1 in 4 Gaza detainees

Administrative detentions

As of May 2026, and based on IPS data alone, Israel was holding 3,376 people in administrative detention, almost all of them residents of the West Bank. Administrative detainees are held without charge or trial , based on “reasonable grounds to believe that they will harm the security of the Area or public safety”, typically because of classified information that neither they nor their lawyers can access. Administrative detention can last for months and even years, with extensions approved by a military judge advocate every six months.

In recent years, the use of administrative detention against Palestinian children has increased. According to IPS figures, a monthly average of 350 Palestinian children were held in its facilities over the course of 2025. According to data collected by Parents Against Child Detention, at least half of them were or are administrative detainees. The youngest child held in administrative detention in 2025 was only 14 years old. Many children in the West Bank are arrested during night raids on their homes in front of their family members, while others are arrested in public spaces, usually for alleged stone-throwing.