[News] UN Committee Decries Israeli Treatment of Palestinian Children

[Anti-Imperialist News]

  UN Committee Decries Israeli Treatment of Palestinian Children

author Tuesday July 24, 2012 16:21author by Kelly Joiner
http://www.imemc.org/article/63952

The United Nations Special Committee on Israeli Practices in the 
Occupied Territories issued a statement against the arrest, detention 
and mistreatment of Palestinian children by the Israeli military, the 
Palestine News Network reported on Tuesday.

Ambassador Palitha T.B. Khonoa, of Sri Lanka reported on the plight of 
Palestinian children who are mistreated by Israel from the moment of 
arrest saying "Large numbers are routinely detained. Children's homes 
are surrounded by Israeli soldiers late at night, sound grenades are 
fired into the houses, doors are broken down, live shots are often 
fired; no warrant is presented. Children are tightly bound, blindfolded 
and forced into the backs of military vehicles."


Additionally, Kohona noted that families are insulted, intimidated and 
sometimes physically assaulted during the arrest of their children and 
are not allowed to accompany them during transport or questioning. 
Transfers can last for hours and often include stops in Israeli 
settlements, at checkpoints, or military bases.

While in custody, "Children are not informed of their rights, including 
their right to legal representation and to not incriminate themselves." 
And in 63% of cases Israeli soldiers attempt to pressure Palestinian 
children into becoming collaborators. This is often accomplished through 
threats of indefinite detention or threats against the child's family. 
"The Committee's view is that this is an unacceptable practice, one that 
Israel must end immediately."

Other violations of international law and basic human rights of children 
include the fact that "Palestinian children in detention are often 
denied family visits, denied access to legal representation, held in 
cells with adults, denied access to education, and even at the age of 
12, tried in Israeli military courts." Court proceedings are always held 
exclusively in Hebrew, so most children are unable to even understand 
what is happening in court.

The Committee also reported that children are routinely sentenced to 
prison or house arrest in homes other than their own families, 
effectively cutting off contact with their families. They were also 
shocked to learn that Israel uses solitary confinement with Palestinian 
children. The Committee added that "This is especially troubling when 
one considers that Israel arrests about 500 to 700 Palestinian children 
every year." There are currently 192 children in detention, many of whom 
are under the age of 16.

Further areas of concern included the practice of demolishing 
Palestinian homes, the violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers, and the 
impact of the Israeli blockade of Gaza. All of these were underscored in 
Ambassador Kohona's final statement. "These Israeli practices lead the 
Special Committee to one over-arching and deeply troubling conclusion. 
The mass imprisonment of Palestinians; the routine demolition of homes 
and the displacement of Palestinians; the widespread violence by Israeli 
settlers against Palestinians; and the blockade and resultant reliance 
on illegal smuggling to survive; these practices amount to a strategy to 
either force the Palestinian people off their land or so severely 
marginalize them as to establish and maintain a system of permanent 
oppression."
-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863-9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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