Stephen Lendman

Israel’s high crimes against Palestinians continue unabated into the new year - an entire population collectively punished by brute force.

The Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association updated the mass arrests and collective punishment toll since Israel unleashed unrestrained violence and brutality three months ago - against legitimate Palestinian resistance, a new generation of youths wanting occupation harshness ended, their fundamental rights respected. From October 1 through yearend, at least 2,663 Palestinians were arbitrarily arrested - over 600 including 177 from East Jerusalem, another 1,885 including 278 children from the rest of the West Bank, 158 Palestinians including 24 children from “1948 occupied territories.”

“The number of Palestinian political prisoners drastically increased after this widespread mass arrests campaign to reach approximately 6,800 prisoners and detainees including 660 administrative detainees, more than 470 children, 60 female prisoners and five members of the Palestinian Legislative Council,” Addameer explained.

For the first time in years, Israel arbitrarily subjected six Palestinian children to administrative detention - uncharged and untried, able to be held indefinitely without due process or judicial fairness.

The overall number of Palestinian administrative detainees doubled from 343 on October 1 to 660 currently. Numerous other arrests were made on the spurious charge of incitement via social media comments.

Israel bans free expression, movements and other fundamental human and civil liberties in Occupied Palestine. Military orders govern virtually all aspects of life repressively.

Palestinians can be arrested, imprisoned and abused for any reason or none at all - ruthless Israeli policies brutalizing them for not being Jews, treating them like subhumans, killing, maiming and incarcerating them at will - classic rogue state repression.

Addameer said its lawyers “documented a wide range of violations…against Palestinian prisoners, including increased use of torture and ill-treatment” - especially vicious during arrests and interrogations.

Injured Palestinians were kidnapped from hospital beds and ambulances, denied medical treatment, left to suffer on their own, some perishing from their ordeal.

Addameer minced no words, saying most “Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces and Israeli settlers since October 1 were killed in the context of alleged stabbing incidents…”

In many cases, “eye witnesses (and/or video) footage confirmed the killings took place (against) suspects” posing no threat - knives planted on the scene as phony evidence.

Official Israeli policy uses lethal force as a first, not last, option. Palestine is a free-fire zone, soldiers and militarized police licensed to kill with impunity.

Extrajudicial executions are the norm, not the exception, Palestinians murdered daily - flagrant war crimes and human rights abuses committed on a regular basis, accountability entirely absent.

An entire population is under siege for wanting fundamental rights everyone deserves - no different from how Israelis treat Jews - impossible under a racist apartheid regime.

Institutionalized cruelty is official Israeli policy, fully supported by Washington and other Western states while pretending otherwise.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".