RAMALLAH, August 27, 2015 (WAFA) – Israeli authorities recently issued administrative detention orders against 18 Palestinians, without a charge or trial, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club (PPC).

PPC said while eight prisoners received administrative detention orders for the first time, the other five received renewed administrative detention orders.

Administrative detention is a procedure which allows the Israeli authorities to hold Palestinian detainees in prison for up to a six-month renewable period based on secret information, without charging them or allowing them to stand trial.

Israel has routinely used administrative detention against Palestinians as statistics show that over the years, thousands of Palestinians have been held in Israeli custody as administrative detainees for extended periods of time.

The Israel human rights group B’Tselem says, “International law stipulates that [administrative detention] may be exercised only in very exceptional cases – and then only as a last possible resort, when there are no other means available to prevent the danger.”

“Israel's use of administrative detention blatantly violates the restrictions of international law. Israel carries it out in a highly classified manner that denies detainees the possibility of mounting a proper defense.”

Palestinian detainees have continuously resorted to open-ended hunger strikes as a way to protest their illegal administrative detention and to demand an end to this policy, which violates international law.

In April 2015, the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) expressed concern at the continued and increasing use of administrative detention by Israeli authorities against Palestinians.

Currently, around 500 detainees are serving administrative detention in several Israeli jails.

Administrative detention has been condemned on numerous occasions by the UN Human Rights Office and the Human Rights Committee that oversees implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Israel has ratified.

Following are the names of the 13 detainees who received administrative detention orders:

M.N/M.H