Israel detains 2 Jerusalem children aged 7 and 11

Israel occupation forces briefly detained two Jerusalem children yesterday afternoon for questioning, according to the Wadi Hilweh Information Centre. 

Seven-year-old Mohammed Shweiki and 11-year-old Mahmoud Shweiki were arrested in the East Jerusalem’s Silwan neighbourhood and taken for investigation at the Salah Al-Din Street police station in Jerusalem.

Child prisoners in Israel endure deplorable conditions and treatment, often being threatened with physical and sexual abuse. There is little access to legal representation and families often cannot visit their children. Last week, Israel’s Supreme Court threw out a petition requesting that Palestinian child prisoners be allowed to call their parents while in detention.

Within the first few months of this year, Israel detained 230 Palestinian children, 70 per cent of whom were “threatened with violence, including rape, castration, home demolition, imprisonment for life and denial of food,” according to the Jerusalem Post.

READ: Israel issued 432 administrative detention orders in 2019