Palestinians Find Little Justice In Israeli Military Courts

Jillian Kestler-D'Amours

Mar 12, 2013

Israeli border guards detain a Palestinian protestors outside Israel's Ofer prison near Ramallah on February 28, 2013 following protests in support of hunger-striking Palestinians in Israeli prisons. Israel's health ministry said the cause of a Palestinian prisoner's death remains unclear following tests on samples from his body, after Palestinian charges he was tortured in detention. AFP PHOTO/ABBAS MOMANI (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images) — Israeli border guards detain a Palestinian protesters outside Israel's Ofer prison near Ramallah on Feb. 28, 2013. — ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images

OFER PRISON, West Bank — Dozens of Palestinian men and women are caged in behind a grey metal fence topped with barbed wire. Some pace back and forth. Others sit on benches in silence. A group huddles together, whispering quietly. Each face is painted with a look of concern and uncertainty.

This is Ofer military court, and these men and women are waiting anxiously to see their loved ones, Palestinian detainees who will soon have hearings in the beige trailers serving as courtrooms on this Israeli military base.