The Palestine you don't know

The mass arrest campaigns conducted by the IDF beginning March 2002, within just a few months, resulted in the detention of approximately 15 000 Palestinians, mostly men, but also women and children. In a blink of an eye, entire villages were emptied of all men over the age of 15. Israeli imposed curfews also prevented those whom had been released from reaching their families for several days, leaving many families unsure as to whether their loved ones had been released, rearrested or killed.

Arrest can happen anywhere and everywhere: at home (often followed by the ransacking of family homes, threats against family members and sometimes the destruction of the house), on streets or roads, at Israeli checkpoints, and, as was witnessed during the most recent Israeli invasions, in any public or private place.

Upon arrest, detainees are usually handcuffed and blindfolded. They are not informed of the reason for their arrest, nor are they told where they will be taken. Physical abuse and humiliation of the detainee by Israeli forces is common. Based on numerous sworn affidavits, detainees have reported that they have been submitted to attempted murder, rape, thrown down stairs while blindfolded, amongst many other forms of physical abuse. During the arrest, detainees have often been forced to strip in public before being arrested. Family members have also been forced to remove their clothes in house to house arrest campaign raids.