Israel arrested 67 Palestinian minors in January

Israeli occupation forces arrested 67 Palestinian minors in January, the Palestine Prisoners Centre for Studies said yesterday, in “violation of international treaties”, Safa reported.

In a statement, the centre said that the Israeli attacks on Palestinian children “are not exceptional or individual, but they are ordered and directed from senior Israeli political levels.”

“The Israeli aggression against Palestinian children does not end at arresting them, but it is extended to torturing them and issuing long prison terms for them,” the statement said. Highlighting this, it said 16-year-old Ayham Sabbah, 16, from Bitonia, was handed a 35-year jail term.

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According to the statement, the Israeli occupation has escalated its aggression against Palestinian children since 2015, when the Jerusalem Intifada started, noting that about 5,000 children have been imprisoned ever since, most of them were tortured.

There are currently at least 250 Palestinian children who are being held in Israeli jails.