'Israel' arrested over 50,000 Palestinian children since 1967

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
6 Jun 2023 16:15
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On the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, the Palestinian Prisoners Center for Studies confirms that Palestinian children in Israeli prisons are subjected to one or more forms of humiliation and physical and psychological torture.

Palestinian child being arrested by Israeli occupation forces. (AFP)

The Palestinian Prisoners Center for Studies confirms that Palestinian children in Israeli prisons are subjected to one or more forms of humiliation and physical and psychological torture through a number of systematic tools and methods that contradict international norms and conventions on children's rights. These violations actually start from the first moment of arrest and continue during the period of investigation and detention.

In a press release issued on the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, which was recognized by the UN, the Center highlighted that Palestinian children are more vulnerable to abuse than other children because of "the aggressive policies against them," particularly the use of prolonged detentions and cruel interrogation tactics.

The Center detailed that the occupation forces arrested a number of children after they were shot and wounded, some of them seriously, and subjected them to inhumane investigations and interrogations.

For his part, Riyad al-Ashqar, the center's director, confirmed that Palestinian children have long been the targets of Israeli violence, and that the occupation constantly violates all humanitarian conventions and regulations, most notably the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

In addition, she emphasized the importance of "providing protection for children and providing opportunities for their growth and development, but the occupation deliberately intensified the arrest of minors over the years."

Occupation courts continued to impose financial fines on children, in addition to actual rulings, with the aim of draining their families, he said.

Al-Ashqar pointed out that the occupation has arrested more than 50,000 Palestinian children, both boys and girls, since 1967, without taking into account their young age, childhood innocence, and weak physical structure, and without providing their minimum basic and humanitarian needs, including 10,000 cases of arrest that have been monitored since the 2015 Al-Quds Uprising to date.

Until the end of 2022, the number of children imprisoned in Israeli prisons reached about 160 children placed in special sections in the "Ofer", "Megiddo," and "Damon prisons" not to mention a number of detention centers, including two girls placed in Damon prison: Noufout Hammad (16 years) from Al-Quds, and Zamzam Al-Qawasmeh (17 years) from al-Khalil.

Palestinian children in Israeli prisons reportedly sleep on the floor due to bed bugs festering the mattresses, while the walls are moldy and crumbling, in addition to mice and rats infesting the cells. As they suffer in abysmal conditions, and strict routines that govern every aspect of their lives.