Israel’s prison population has massively altered within short periods of time without any major changes in crime rates, legislation, or official sentencing policy. After a steady rise that reached its peak in the late 1980's, there was a slow but consistent drop in the total incarceration rate. This was due to a significant reduction in the number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel in the wake of the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993. There was a clear and steady rise in incarceration rates with reference to Israeli citizens only and not including the Palestinians. There was a disproportionate number of Arab prisoners throughout this entire period. Much of the increased imprisonment is related to the cycles of confrontation with the Palestinians. The ongoing Israeli and Arab conflict and the related security concerns have important consequences for the working of the criminal justice system and influences on penal policies. There has been no ideological movement favoring the systematic replacement of individualized and rehabilitative sanctions. For most Israeli offenders, the prison is used as the last resort and treatment programs are provided. For Palestinians, prison is used much more explicitly as a mechanism of exclusion and control. It is used to segregate dangerous individuals, terrorists, and suspects for terrorist activity endangering state security. The common practice of releasing prisoners after serving two-thirds of their sentence is not accorded to Palestinians in general. Israeli Arabs convicted of security offenses are not given this benefit either. It seems that the high rates of Palestinian imprisonment are not the outcome of an explicit policy to incarcerate large numbers of the occupied population but to incapacitate them. 2 tables, 21 notes, 60 references