NGO: 440 Palestinian children held in Israeli jails

Some 440 Palestinian children are currently lingering in Israeli jails, Defence for Children International Palestine revealed yesterday.

“The latest statistic we obtained from the Israeli Prison Service showed that some of the 440 children were prosecuted and some others were not as they are in remand pending prosecution or being interrogated,” Advocacy Officer Bashar Jamal said.

“Among the imprisoned children, 116 are aged between 12 and 15.” He also noted that there are 12 girls among them, ten under administrative detention.

The children are subjected to torture and physical and verbal abuse. “Torture starts when they are arrested,” he said, “they are either beaten or pushed to the ground, hit by rifles.”

Of those held, 66 have been placed in solitary confinement over the last three years. A 17-year-old was placed in solitary confinement for 45 days, the longest period for a minor to date. The room he was held was small with no bed, forcing him to sleep on the floor, no natural day light entered the room.