Israel detained 70 Palestinian children, 394 others last month: report

Israel detained 70 children and 394 other Palestinians last month, as part of a massive crackdown in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian civil society and governmental groups said on Thursday.

The detentions in June bring the total number of Palestinians detained by Israel so far this year to 3,873, of which 1,896 - or almost half - have been from occupied East Jerusalem, and 64 from the besieged Gaza Strip.

The figures were released in a monthly report by prisoners' rights group Addameer, the Palestinian Authority's Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoners Club and the Wadi Hilweh Information Center.

Israeli authorities also made 153 administrative detention orders last month, according to the report.

Administrative detention is a controversial practice that can see Palestinians held indefinitely in jail without charge.

While 58 of the administrative detention orders were new, the remaining 95 were renewals.

So far in 2022, Israel has made 862 administrative detention orders against Palestinians, with 398 of these being new and the rest renewals.

There are currently 4,650 Palestinians held in jails in Israel, including 180 children and hundreds of sick detainees - among them 23 suffering from cancer.

One high-profile Palestinian being held by Israel is Ahmad Manasra, 20, who was first arrested aged 13.

Amnesty International last month called on Israel to "immediately release" Manasra, who the rights group said has "developed serious mental health problems since his arrest".