Gravely concerned about the reported worsening health of more than 75 Palestinian detainees on hunger strike now in hospital protesting Israel’s continued use of administrative detention， members of a United Nations committee today urged Israel to end the practice and heed the “desperate plea” prisoners to be told what they are accused of so they can mount a defence.

“It is a desperate plea by these detainees to be afforded a very basic standard of due process: to know what they are accused of and to be able to defend themselves，” said the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories said in a press release.

At the end of its annual fact-finding visit to Amman， Jordan， and Cairo， Egypt -- from 1 to 5 June -- members of the Special Committee urged Israel to heed the demand of the hunger strikers to end the practice of arbitrary administrative detention of Palestinians.

According to the Committee， a first group of around 100 Palestinian administrative detainees launched a peaceful protest on 24 April 2014 and were later joined by more detainees. The total number of hunger strikers now stands at 290， with more expected to join in the coming weeks.

“International humanitarian law only exceptionally allows for the use of administrative detention， yet the Israeli authorities have detained a large number of Palestinians for reasons not explicitly indicated. Initial administrative detention orders of six-month periods can be renewed an indefinite number of times without producing charges，” the Committee noted.

The Committee has learned that there are 11 elected Palestinian Legislators serving prison terms， including 8 held under administrative detention.