Number of Palestinian minors in Israel’s administrative detention rises sharply, data shows

The number of Palestinian minors held in administrative detention in Israel rose sharply within roughly a year, rising from 103 in January 2025 to 191 in March 2026, according to Israel Prison Service data obtained by the organization Parents Against Child Detention.

Those under administrative detention are held without charge or trial. Under the controversial practice, which Israel says is needed to address urgent security threats, the detainee is not informed of the allegations against them, and the evidence is presented in court in classified proceedings.

In addition, the number of minors held in administrative detention for more than a year rose more than eightfold, from six in March 2025 to 50 in March 2026.

The figures also show that administrative detention has become an increasingly frequent form of incarceration for Palestinian minors. At the beginning of 2025, about a third of Palestinian minors held by Israel were in administrative detention. By March 2026, the proportion had risen to nearly half.

Titi Carmel, executive director of Parents Against Child Detention, says in a statement that the figures are alarming.

“While children in Israel and around the world are enjoying their summer vacation, a growing number of Palestinian children are being held in harsh conditions identical to those of adults. Particularly troubling is the sharp rise in the number of children held in administrative detention — imprisonment without charge or trial, based on secret evidence,” she says.

According to the Israel Prison Service, a total of 3,198 Palestinians are currently being held in administrative detention, the vast majority from the West Bank. The figure does not include Palestinians detained during the war in Gaza who are classified as “unlawful combatants.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz recently boasted of having ceased approving administrative detention orders against Jewish suspects, while significantly increasing the use of the practice against Arab suspects.