PPS: Israel Detained +6.000 Children Since 2015

Ramallah, MINA – Israeli occupation authorities detained more than 6,000 Palestinian children since 2015, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS).

PPS said in a statement marking the Palestinian Children’s Day, which coincided on Friday, that 98 percent of the children held had been subjected to psychological and/or physical abuse while in Israeli custody, WAFA reported.

It said dozens of minors were detained by Israeli troops after being shot and wounded by the troops.

Children living in occupied East Jerusalem are the most targeted, with dozens facing arrests more than one time a month, particularly during periods of heightened tensions such as the Bab al-Rahma protests in March, PPS added.

Minors arrested during night raids are transferred to interrogation and detention centers, where they suffer abuses, including being deprived of food or water for hours.

The children’s right to have one parent or guardian present during their interrogation is often neglected, the NGO said. Children are often forced to sign statements written in Hebrew – a language they cannot read.

“The conditions have left released children suffering from nightmares, insomnia, decline in school achievement and reacting aggressively with their environment and society,” PPS continued.

PPS urged international human rights organizations, including the UNICEF, to take “effective action against the violations committed against children who are detained by Israeli forces”.(R/R04/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)