UNICEF: ISRAEL VIOLATES INTERNATIONAL LAW IN TREATMENT OF PALESTINIAN CHILDREN

Al-Quds, 12 Jumadil Awwal 1436/3 March 2015 (MINA) – In its annual report entitled “Children in Israeli Military Detention Observations and Recommendations”, UNICEF has said that Israeli treatment of Palestinian children is “in violation of international law”.

“Since March 2013, UNICEF has been engaging in a dialogue with the Israeli authorities on children’s rights while in military detention and on specific actions that can be undertaken to improve the protection of these children,” the report states.

UNICEF said it met with several senior Israeli officials and related departments in the Israeli ministries to procure information about the treatment of child detainees.

It said: “The dialogue focuses on what a child experiences when arrested and detained for alleged security offences in the West Bank,” Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Tuesday.

According to the report, UNICEF’s Working Group on Grave Violations against Children found that children had often been subjected to multiple violations throughout the arrest, transfer, interrogation and detention phases.

The report found that 162 children reported being blindfolded during transfer from the place of arrest to the police station; 189 children reported being painfully hand-tied upon arrest; and 171 children reported being subjected to physical violence during arrest, interrogation and/or detention.

The Working Group also found that 144 children reported being subjected to verbal abuse and intimidation during arrest, interrogation and/or detention; while 89 children reported being transferred from the place of arrest to the police station on the floor of the vehicle.

In addition, it said that 163 children reported not being adequately notified of their legal rights, in particular the right to counsel and the right to remain silent.

A further 148 children reported being strip-searched at the police station and 76 children reported being strip-searched upon arrival and transfer to Israeli Prison Services’ detention facilities.

The report concluded that the “[i]ll-treatment of Palestinian children in the Israeli military detention system appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalised.” Adding that, “these practices are in violation of international law that protects all children against ill-treatment when in contact with law enforcement, military and judicial institutions.” (T/P002/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)