The Carceral System
How Palestinian political prisoners are detained — the legal and physical machinery of imprisonment under occupation. Browse the mechanisms below, then explore the map of known detention sites.
Administrative Detention
Administrative detention allows imprisonment without charge or trial, on the basis of secret evidence that neither the detainee nor their lawyer can see. Orders are issued by the military commander for up to six months at a time and can be renewed indefinitely — meaning a person can be held for years without ever being told what they are accused of.
Military Courts
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are prosecuted in Israeli military courts — a separate legal system from the civilian courts that try Israeli settlers living in the same territory. These courts rely heavily on plea bargains and confessions and report extremely high conviction rates, raising fundamental questions of fairness and equality before the law.
Torture & Interrogation
Testimonies and human-rights reporting describe physical and psychological coercion during interrogation — including prolonged restraint in stress positions, sleep deprivation, isolation, and threats against detainees and their families. Such practices are prohibited absolutely under international law.
Child Detention
Children — some as young as twelve — are arrested, interrogated without a parent or lawyer present, and prosecuted within the military court system. Many describe being seized at night, blindfolded and bound, and pressured to sign documents written in a language they do not understand.
Conditions of Imprisonment
Prisoners face overcrowding, inadequate food and hygiene, denial of family visits, and restricted or delayed medical care. Hunger strikes have repeatedly been used as a last resort to demand basic rights, and detainees have died in custody.
Detention Sites
Locations are approximate, compiled from human-rights sources (Addameer, B'Tselem, Amnesty International, OHCHR). Some listed facilities are co-located complexes, and many detainees are held in undisclosed sites not shown here.
Palestinian political prisoners are held across a network of prisons, military camps, and interrogation centres. This map shows known sites — many detainees, especially from Gaza since October 2023, are held in undisclosed locations and are not represented here.
- 1948 territories
- West Bank
- Jerusalem
All sites
These mechanisms are documented in detail by organizations such as Addameer, Al-Haq, and United Nations bodies. See Resources →