Israel drags Palestinian boy away from his mother

Israeli soldiers arrested a 13-year-old Palestinian child, identified as Amer Oweidat, from his home in Al-Arroub refugee camp, in Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank.

Israel’s military typically arrests and prosecutes 500 to 700 Palestinian children between the ages of 12 and 17 each year, subjecting them to coercive interrogation, physical violence and trials in military courts that lack basic guarantees of due process.

A video of the kidnapping shows the mother crying and running after Amer who was being dragged away and blocked by the armed occupation forces from reaching his mother. Amer is also heard calling out for his mum shouting: “I want to speak to my mum; I just want to speak to her.”

Israeli soldiers routinely torture, abuse,and threaten Palestinian children, and force them to sign confessions written in Hebrew, which they can’t read.

https://twitter.com/KhalidNajjar10l/status/1227261386847330305

The West Bank, among territories where Palestinians seek statehood, has seen sporadic violence since US President Donald Trump unveiled details of his “peace plan”.

Moreover, in Hebron this morning, Israeli soldiers abducted two more young teenagers, identified as Baha’ Jawabra and Lu’ay Jawabra, after invading and ransacking their homes in Al-Arroub refugee camp.

According to the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network Samidoun, every year, around 700 Palestinian children are brought before Israeli military courts after being arrested, detained and interrogated.

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The vast majority report some form of torture and abuse, including kicking and beating in military jeeps as well as psychological torture during interrogation, including threats to arrest family members.

A joint report issued by three Palestinian prisoners’ affairs organisations revealed that Israeli occupation forces arrested 496 Palestinians in January 2020, including 67 children and 16 women.

During 2019, Israeli occupation forces arrested 889 children. By the end of the year, the number of detained children in Israeli jails reached approximately 200, while 35 are held under house arrest.