Alone: Palestinian Children in the Israeli Military Detention System

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Every year, hundreds of Palestinian children are arrested by the Israeli military in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). Many of these arrests, particularly those that take place in the West Bank, occur in areas of particularly high tension such as an illegal Israeli settlement or in Palestinian villages that have land confiscated by the Separation Barrier. As of September 2012, there were 189 Palestinian children in Israeli prisons, 28 of which were between the ages of 12 and 15. According to Defence for Children International-Palestine Section (DCIPS), since December 2011, there has been a 40% increase in Palestinian children held under Israeli military detention.

The majority of these children that are arrested, detained, and interrogated by the Israeli military are accused of stone throwing. Several reports indicate that these children have been mistreated and/or tortured and transferred throughout their detention.

 

DCIPS makes a number of recommendations regarding the prosecution of children in Israeli military courts, which include:

 

    • No child should be interrogated in the absence of a lawyer of choice and family member.

 

    • All interrogations of children must be audio-visually recorded.

 

    • All credible allegations of torture and ill-treatment must be thoroughly and impartially investigated in accordance with international standards, and perpetrators brought promptly to justice.[1]

 

Please contact your government representatives and nearest Israeli embassy and call for an end to the unlawful arrest of Palestinian children in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).

 

This video, produced by DCIPS, uses testimonies from former child detainees to illustrate the experience of Palestinian minors in the Israeli prison system. It also includes the voices from Nader Abu Amsha East Jerusalem YMCA’s Rehabilitation Programme, Raghad Jaraisy of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and Iyad Misk of DCIPS.

World Vision Jerusalem-West Bank-Gaza continues to work towards impacting the lives of 200,000 children through its programs. World Vision works with 117 communities seeking to help support vital development and to ensure children are cared for, protected and participating.

[1] Child Detention, Defence for Children International-Palestine Section, http://www.dci-palestine.org/content/child-detention (Accessed on October 23, 2012).