Center for the Defence of the Individual - According to the military's response to HaMoked's inquiry: 159 detainees were transferred from the Gaza Strip to Israel during the war designated Operation Protective Edge
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28.12.2014

According to the military's response to HaMoked's inquiry: 159 detainees were transferred from the Gaza Strip to Israel during the war designated Operation Protective Edge

During the war designated Operation Protective Edge, Israel arrested many Palestinians from Gaza. Based on Gaza's changed status following Israel's disengagement, Israel refused to disclose the detainees' details, the detention facilities used to hold them, and the legal basis for their detention.

On July 29, 2014, HaMoked quickly petitioned the High Court of Justice to instruct the state to divulge the details of the Gaza residents it was holding inside its territory in military facilities, and uphold its duty to duly register them. However, in the hearing, the court accepted the state's arguments and advised HaMoked to withdraw the petition.

On August 14, 2014, HaMoked sent the IDF spokesperson's office an application under the Freedom of Information Act for details concerning the detainees from Gaza. HaMoked sought, inter alia, to know what was the legal basis for the detentions; the detention location; whether the detainees had been transferred to additional detention facilities; how long had the detainees been held inside Israel; and what was the status of the temporary detention facilities that Israel had established according to the media.

On December 23, 2014, the military's spokesperson delivered a partial response to HaMoked's inquiry: according to the military's figures, during the fighting in Gaza the military detained 159 Palestinians inside Gaza and transferred them to Israel. Those detainees who were not returned to Gaza shortly after arrest, were held in Israel pursuant to the Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law; three temporary detention facilities were established during the fighting and were located in Israel, operated below the stipulated maximum capacity and were dismantled at the end of the operation; during the fighting, three detainees were held in Israeli hospitals. Furthermore, the military announced it no longer held Gaza Palestinians who had been arrested during the fighting, and that additional information should be sought from the Israel Prison Service.

Regrettably, some of HaMoked's questions to the military remained unanswered. Thus, the military did not disclose, inter alia, the overall number of detainees including the number of those held inside Gaza, and refused to answer questions relating to the interrogation of detainees "due to concern of harm to the security of the state".