Rights group: Israel holding 800 Palestinians without trial

By ELEANOR H. REICH
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli rights group says Israel is holding nearly 800 Palestinians without trial or charge, the highest number since 2008. HaMoked, which regularly gathers figures from Israeli prison authorities, said Sunday that 798 Palestinians are currently being held in so-called administrative detention. Under the practice, prisoners can be held for months, do not know the charges against them and are not granted access to the evidence against them. The group said the number of those held in administrative detention has risen steadily this year, as Israel conducts nightly arrest raids in the occupied West Bank in response to a spate of attacks against Israelis earlier this year.