Report: 250 Palestinian children deprived of basic rights in Israel jails

As many as 250 Palestinian children under the age of 18 are held in Israeli jails and subjected to all forms of oppression, torture and degrading treatment, the Palestinian Detainees Committee said.

In a special report released yesterday to mark Palestinian Children’s Day, the group revealed that Israeli forces have arrested nearly 10,000 Palestinian children since the Second Intifada in September 2000.

According to the report, Israeli forces subjected the detained children to brutal treatment including arresting them from their homes late at night, interrogating them without a lawyer, food or drink and subjecting them physical and psychological maltreatment including severe beatings, insults, threats and intimidation to obtain confessions under pressure.

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“Since the uprising of October 2015, the number of Palestinian children in Israeli jails has significantly increased, reaching more than 400 children in some months; the highest numbers since February 2009,” it said.

The committee said over the past four years Israel has adopted a number of laws targeting Palestinian children including issuing long jail terms for minor offenses.

It called on the international community and all human and children’s rights groups to intervene and end the suffering of Palestinian child detainees.