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<h1 class="article-title"><small>UN Committee Decries Israeli Treatment
of Palestinian Children</small></h1>
<div class="article-subtitledetails">
<span class="article-details"><span class="article-detail"><img
class="icon" src="cid:part1.06060006.04020300@freedomarchives.org"
alt="author"> Tuesday July 24, 2012 16:21</span><span
class="article-detail"><img class="icon"
src="cid:part2.08010802.06020106@freedomarchives.org" alt="author"> by
Kelly Joiner</span></span><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.imemc.org/article/63952">http://www.imemc.org/article/63952</a><br>
<br>
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. </div>
<p class="photo"> 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.”<br>
</p>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.”<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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."
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