The embassies of a dozen Western countries — some allies, some leading critics — on Monday called on Israel to change its policies on incarceration for Palestinian prisoners, arguing that Israel is not meeting its responsibilities under international law.

The German, Canadian, Danish, EU, Finnish, French, Irish, Dutch, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish and UK missions released a joint statement lamenting “the extensive use of administrative detention by Israeli authorities without formal charge.”

They also panned Israel for its prisons’ “inadequate food, denial of medical care and systematic abuse. ”

The 12 embassies expressed deep concern over the health of incarcerated Gazan doctor Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, who is also a colonel in the Hamas terror group and who has been held since December 2024.

They called on Israel to “uphold its human rights obligations towards detainees under international law,” including by giving the Red Cross access to its facilities.

Israel currently holds over 1,300 Palestinian detainees under the terms of the law for unlawful combatants, in a practice known as administrative detention.

Such detainees include those arrested by the Israel Defense Forces and security services inside Gaza and the West Bank during military operations, but who have not been charged with a crime.

The measure sees individuals held without charge for up to six months at a time, under limited court review. The detentions can be renewed indefinitely while allowing military prosecutors to keep suspects from being able to see the evidence against them.

The tool is typically used when authorities have intelligence tying a suspect to a crime but do not wish to reveal the source of the information.

A series of reports issued by the Public Defender’s Office and revealed in January found that Palestinian security detainees held in Israeli prisons suffer from severe and systematic violence from prison guards, deprivation of food and medical........

© The Times of Israel