‘Hares boys’ sentenced to 15 years by Israeli military court

After a nearly three-year long battle in Israeli military courts, five Palestinian teens from the West Bank village of Hares accused of manslaughter for allegedly throwing stones were sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday, according to Ma’an news agency.

Ali Shamlawi, Mohammed Suliman, Mohammad Kleib, Tamer Souf and Ammar Souf were all aged between 16 and 17 at the time of their arrest.

Relatives of the detainees told Ma’an following a court hearing in December 2015 that the teens would be sentenced to prison terms of 15 years on the grounds that their families pay fines of 30,000 shekels ($7,700) by 28 January.

Failure to pay the fines could have resulted in prolonged sentencing to at least 25 years in prison, according to a blog dedicated to news on the boys’ cases.

The Israeli army alleges that on the evening of 14 March 2013, the boys were throwing stones at passing vehicles on a main road near Ariel settlement which resulted in a road traffic collision and the hospitalisation of a child.

All five denied the allegations, but later signed confessions “after being repeatedly abused in prison and during interrogations,” according to the blog.