More than 650,000 Palestinian –almost 20 percent of the population– have been arrested by the Zionist troops since the occupation of Palestinian territories in 1967, decried a report released by the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoner and Ex-prisoner Affairs.

The official report of the Palestinian authorities noted the conditions of prisoners and detainees in the jails of the occupation forces, indicating that roughly 8,800 Palestinians remain imprisoned in more than 28 penitentiaries.

The report also affirms that about 700 Palestinians were arrested this past September and another 250 in October; these individuals are all being subjected to prolonged interrogations.

The head of statistics office of that Ministry, Abdel-Nasser Farawneh, said that the number of prisoners –instead of decreasing– has increased, along with the suffering and the impoverishment of their families.

Farawneh added that the occupation authorities continue their campaigns of arbitrary arrests, which reflects their lack of seriousness in their announcements and constant calls for calm. Since this past February’s Sharm Al-Sheikh Conference in which appeals were made by the administrations to achieve calm, the number of detainees has surpassed 2,500.

The report highlight that the occupation forces torture Palestinian prisoners in violation of international treaties. It added that Israel is the only state that institutes torture as a legal practice and exercises it as an official procedure with the backing of the government; since 1996 the Zionist security apparatuses have been given legal approval to commit such acts by the Supreme Court of Israel.