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Vast Majority of Palestinians in Custody Have Not Been Tried

November 28, 1988
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Only 377 of the 5,656 Arabs arrested for alleged participation in the Palestinian uprising have been tried and convicted in court, Haaretz reported Sunday.

According to official Israel Defense Force statistics quoted by the newspaper, another 2,064 remain confined, pending completion of legal procedures, and 1,625 are in detention awaiting trial.

But 1,590 others will never get a trial. They are administrative detainees, who may be held for up to six months at the discretion of the military authorities without having charges brought against them.

Haaretz quoted the IDF as reporting that 240 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli security forces since the uprising began on Dec. 9, 1987 — 163 in the West Bank and 77 in the Gaza Strip.

Arab sources and foreign media reports place Palestinian fatalities at over 300.

In the same period, six Israeli civilians and two soldiers have been killed in incidents linked to the uprising.

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