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<h1 id="reader-title">On Int'l Human Rights Day, Palestinian
People’s Suffering Continues</h1>
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<p class="rtejustify"><span class="date-display-single">07
December 2016<br>
</span></p>
<p class="rtejustify"><span class="date-display-single"></span>This
year, Palestinians commemorate <strong>International
Human Rights Day </strong>mourning over <strong>266
Palestinians </strong>including <strong>76 children</strong> who
were killed by Israeli Occupation Forces since October
2015. Palestinians mark this day following over a year
of nonstop violence and widespread human rights
violations by Israeli Occupation Forces against the
Palestinian population used as a form of collective
punishment and a method of control of Palestinian
society. These consistent and systematic policies by the
occupation include, mass arrests campaigns, torture,
hunger strikes, extrajudicial executions and issuance of
discriminatory legislations.</p>
<p class="rtejustify"><strong>Extrajudicial Executions and
Withholding of Bodies</strong></p>
<p class="rtejustify">In 2016 there have been 120
Palestinians killed and extrajudicially executed. Since
October 2015, there have been 266 documented
Palestinians killed since October 2015, 78 from Hebron,
58 from Jerusalem, 24 in Ramallah, 21 in Jenin, 19 from
Nablus, 15 in Bethlehem, 5 in Tulkarem, 4 from Salfit,
and 3 from Qalqiliya, 2 from 1948, and 34 from Gaza
(Jerusalem Center for the Study of Israeli-Palestinian
affairs/Addameer). 76 of those have been children, about
29% of the total number. 24 of them are female.</p>
<p class="rtejustify">Currently, the bodies of 25
Palestinian extrajudicially executed Palestinians are
being held, including the bodies of seven children. Of
the 25 bodies withheld, 24 are from the West Bank and
one is from occupied Jerusalem (Jerusalem Center for the
Study of Israeli-Palestinian affairs/Addameer.)</p>
<p class="rtejustify"><strong>Arrests of Palestinians</strong></p>
<p class="rtejustify">Under <strong>Article 3</strong> and <strong>Article
9</strong> of the <strong>Universal Declaration of
Human Rights</strong>, all human beings have the right
to liberty and the right not to be subjected to
arbitrary arrest and detention. Palestinians, however,
have suffered from a widespread policy of arrests and
use of arbitrary detention by IOF for decades. In the
months following October 2015, and throughout 2016, mass
arrests campaigns have continued throughout occupied
Palestine The number of daily arrests has increased over
the past year and has included the arrests of different
ages and social groups, children, women and men. Since
October, at least 7955 Palestinians were arrested,
including 1963 children, 229 women and girls, 41
journalists and five members of the Palestinian
Legislative Council. Currently there are approximately
7000 Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli
detention, including 400 children, 7 Palestinian
legislative council members, 64 females, and over 720
Palestinian administrative detainees held without charge
or trial.</p>
<p class="rtejustify"><strong>Administrative Detention of
Palestinians</strong></p>
<p class="rtejustify">The use of administrative detention
continued throughout 2016 in a widespread and systematic
form. Addameer documentation unit finds that between
1 January 2016 and 30 November 2016, there were 1586
total administrative detention orders issued, among them
588 new orders and 998 renewed orders. Among the current
720 Palestinian administrative detainees, there are 5
children, 3 Palestinian Legislative Council members, and
one female. These include, for example, the case of
Hamza Hammad, a 16-year old Palestinian child from the
village of Silwad who is held under administrative
detention without charge or trial since 28 February
2016.</p>
<p class="rtejustify"><strong>Hunger Strikes for Dignity</strong></p>
<p class="rtejustify">Throughout 2016, following the
escalation of the use of administrative detention, a
number of Palestinian detainees have resorted to hunger
in protest of their detention without charge or trial
based on “secret information”. The most recent mass
hunger strike began in June 2016 following the
administrative detention of Bilal Kayed, who had
completed serving over 14 years in prison; over 100
Palestinian prisoners and detainees joined a solidarity
hunger strike. Numerous individual hunger strikes have
occurred throughout 2016 in protest of administrative
detention – such as Mohammad Al Qeeq (2015-2016), Malek
Al-Qadi (2016), Mohammad Al- Balboul (2016), and Mahmoud
Al-Balboul (2016).</p>
<p class="rtejustify">Currently, two Palestinian
prisoners, Anas Shadid and Ahmad Abu Fara, are on hunger
strike against their imprisonment without charge or
trial under Israeli administrative detention. Abu Fara,
29, and Shadid, 19, have been on hunger strike since 25
September. Both have been imprisoned without charge or
trial since 1 and 2 August, respectively, and are on
strike to demand their release.</p>
<p class="rtejustify"><strong>Imprisonment of Palestinian
Children</strong></p>
<p class="rtejustify">Under International Human Rights
Law, children must be afforded special protection and
their best interest should always be a primary
consideration. The Convention on the Rights of the
Child, which was ratified by Israel in 1991, prohibits
the arbitrary detention of children and stipulates that
the detention and imprisonment of children should only
be used as a measure of last resort and for the shortest
appropriate period of time. Palestinian children,
however, are regularly subjected to arrests and
detention by Israeli occupation. Children often undergo
ill-treatment at the hands of IOF forces and are subject
to a wide array of violations. Arrests usually take
place in night raids and are often physically and
verbally abused during arrest, transfer and detention.</p>
<p class="rtejustify">Almost one-fourth of those arrested
since 1 October were children, which resulted in
tripling the number of Palestinian minors held in
Israeli occupation prisons to reach <strong>least 400
children.</strong> 5 of them are currently held under
administrative detention considered to be a “<em>direct
and immediate threat to the national security of
Israel</em>.” Israeli occupation also continues to
target children with new harsh policies and laws
including a new Knesset law which would allowed
custodian sentences for children as young as
12-year-old.</p>
<p class="rtejustify"><strong>Torture and ill-Treatment</strong></p>
<p class="rtejustify">Torture and ill treatment has
continued throughout 2016. Addameer has documented an
escalation of the use of violence and excessive force
against Palestinians during arrest and detention.
Several Palestinian youth were arrested after being shot
by IOF forces in the aftermath of alleged stabbing
attacks. Many of those who were arrested after being
shot were subjected to field interrogations while
bleedings, interrogations during treatment in hospitals
while chained to bed as well as being subjected to harsh
interrogations shortly after release from hospitals. It
has been noted by Addameer’s documentation unit that the
use of shaking has become more prominent in the
interrogation centers. Other practices include sleep
deprivation, deprivation from food and water, threats
against family members, threats of sexual violence, and
threats of administrative detention without charge or
trial. Medical negligence continues to be a policy, with
specialized medical care unavailable to prisoners and
detainees.</p>
<p class="rtejustify"><strong>Medical Negligence</strong></p>
<p class="rtejustify">The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) has
adopted a policy of deliberate medical neglect against
prisoners and detainees. Human rights organizations
estimate that since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa
Intifada in 2000 until 2008, 17 Palestinian prisoners
have died in Israeli prisons and detention centers as a
result of medical negligence. In HaSharon prison, there
are approximately 10 Palestinian females that have been
injured from the time of their arrests as a result of
attacks by Israel forces, who are not provided with
adequate medical treatment. HaSharon and Damon prisons
continue to lack specialized medical care for women.</p>
<p class="rtejustify"><strong>Human Rights Defenders and
Journalists</strong></p>
<p class="rtejustify">2016 witnessed the crackdown and
repression of human rights defenders and journalists.
These include Addameer media officer Hasan Safadi, who
was arrested on May 1<sup>st</sup>, 2016. On October
2016, Israeli Forces arrested Mr. Salah Khawaja, the
coordinator of the Popular Campaign against the Wall and
Settlements and member of the Boycott, Divestment and
Sanctions National Committee, in central Ramallah, and
caused destruction in the property of his home in the
raid and sprayed tear gas in the neighborhood resulting
in suffocation of residents.</p>
<p class="rtejustify"><strong>Re-arrest of Released
Prisoners</strong></p>
<p class="rtejustify">In 2016, Article 186 of Military
Order 1651 has continued to affect Palestinians who were
released in the prisoner exchange deal of 18 October
2011. Since then, several of these formerly released
prisoners were then re-arrested based on secret
information. Currently, there are approximately 60
prisoners and detainees who have been rearrested since
2011 under article 186 who remain in detention, and the
majority of those sentenced were ordered to serve the
remainder of their previous sentences based on secret
information.</p>
<p class="rtejustify">For example, Nael Barghouti, 59,
continues to be held despite having served his latest
sentence of 30 months. An appeal was submitted by the
prosecution on 25 November 2015, who seek to re-instate
a previous life sentence on Mr. Barghouti. The military
court is to provide an answer to the prosecution’s
appeal by 17 December 2016. Mr. Barghouti faces the
possibility of re-instatement of life sentence based on
secret information.</p>
<p class="rtejustify"><strong>Discriminatory Legislation</strong></p>
<p class="rtejustify">Since October 2015, a series of
discriminatory legislation has also been passed. In
2015, an amendment was made to institute mandatory
minimum sentences of no less than one-fifth of the
potential maximum sentence for throwing stones, and up
to 10 and 20 years for adults. The Knesset also passed
an amendment to the national insurance law, which
effectively to denies social benefits to children
convicted of “nationalistic-motivated” offenses and
“terrorist activities” during their imprisonment. The
change also allows Israeli courts to fine their families
with up to NIS 10,000 (US$2,580). In addition, the
Israeli Knesset approved a bill to allow custodial
sentences for children as young as 12, which is
exclusively used against Palestinian children.</p>
<p class="rtejustify"><strong>“Incitement” charge as
Obstruction of Freedom of Expression</strong></p>
<p class="rtejustify">The year 2016 also witnessed an
increasing number of Palestinians being arrested for
incitement charges based on social media posts. Since
the beginning of October 2015, Addameer has documented
more than 200 cases of arrests of Palestinians,
including children, for alleged incitement. The
prosecution of Palestinians for social media posts is
based on information obtained from the intelligence. The
intelligence and prosecution analyze the detainees’
publications by addressing its content, the number of
people that interacted with the post (likes and shares),
and the comments received.</p>
<p class="rtejustify"><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
<p class="rtejustify">On the occasion of International
Human Rights Day, Addameer calls for an end to ongoing
collective punishment by Israeli occupation forces in
the form of mass arrest campaigns, rapidly increasing
use of administrative detention, continued denial of
fair trial, and illegal transfer and deportation of
detainees. Addameer therefore calls on members of the
international community, particularly UN Member States
and relevant UN bodies and agencies, to hold Israel
accountable for the ongoing collective punishment and
harsh policies against the Palestinian population.
Israeli mass incarceration of Palestinians is an
inextricable part of the ongoing violence of
occupation. Tearing at the fabric of Palestinian
society, recent arrest campaigns seek to quash
Palestinian ability to endure in their struggles against
the occupation. It is important that on this day, we all
stand united to call for an end to Israeli violations of
Palestinian rights. As Israel acts with ever growing
contempt for international law and the will of the
international community, action is now needed more than
ever. </p>
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