Palestinian children paying a hefty price
In spite of damning evidence regarding Israel’s deliberate targeting of minors, little has been done by the international community to hold Tel Aviv accountable for such crimes
he time may not be ripe for the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and it may never be. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is presiding over one of the most radical, right-wing, ultra-nationalist governments in the history of Israel. His seven-year-old premiership has seen unprecedented expansion of illegal colonies in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, expropriation of Palestinian lands, encirclement of cities, towns and refugee camps by colony blocs and Jews-only highways, demolition of hundreds of Palestinian houses and imposition of collective punishment against hundreds of thousands of civilians. His 50-day massive military campaign against the beleaguered Gaza Strip in July 2014 resulted in the deaths of thousands, of which 63 per cent were civilians, including 500 children, according to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem.
All of these crimes have passed without international scrutiny or reprimand. Israel remains the only state that is impervious to international law and United Nations Security Council resolutions. This indemnity has encouraged it to enforce the most horrific types of punishment against Palestinians, especially children. For decades, Palestinian children have paid a heavy price owing to Israeli occupation, but under the Netanyahu government, the targeting and persecution of children have reached record levels.
According to various reports, 116 Palestinian children aged between 12 and 15 years were held under Israeli military detention at the end of December 2015 — an 11-fold increase from the previous year. By April this year, the number of Palestinian children in Israeli detention centres reached 440.
But that is not all. In a 2013 review of Israel’s child rights record, the UN Committee on the Rights of Children said it had deep concern about the reported practice of torture and ill-treatment of children arrested, prosecuted and detained by the military and the police. In November of last year, the Palestinian Prisoners Club said that at least 600 Palestinian children had been arrested in occupied Jerusalem alone in the first half of 2015 and that roughly 40 per cent were sexually abused. And in January of this year, the Independent cited a report published by The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, saying that “children accused of minor crimes were subjected to public caging, threats and acts of sexual violence and military trials without [legal] representation”.
In June last year, Military Court Watch, a West Bank-based nongovernment organisation, published a report in which it stated that “it is estimated that since 1967, some 95,000 (Palestinian) children may have been detained (by Israeli forces), of which 43,000 were arrested in night raids and 59,000 physically assaulted”.
Last February, Israel arrested 12-yearold Dima Al Wawi and sentenced her to five months in prison. And in June, an Israeli court sentenced 14-year-old Fadi Shalloudi from occupied Jerusalem to 100 days in prison, and a fine of 2,400 Israeli shekels (currency), after he was held under house arrest for nine months. The head of the Palestinian Detainees’ Committee said that at least 65 children from occupied Jerusalem have been detained, then forced under house arrest, since the beginning of this year.
Serious wounds
Since Palestinians in the West Bank revolted against Israeli occupation last October, the number of those shot dead by soldiers crossed 230, including 53 children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The last victim was Mohammad Sidqy At-Tibakhi, 12, who was shot in the chest at close range in the town of Al Ram and he died of his wounds.
But in spite of damning evidence regarding Israel’s deliberate targeting of Palestinian children, little has been done by the international community to hold Tel Aviv accountable for serious crimes.
The only meaningful reaction has come recently from an unlikely source: The United States Congress. In June this year, 20 members of Congress signed a letter to President Barack Obama, calling for the appointment of “a special envoy for Palestinian youth” to collect information necessary to actively promote Palestinian children’s human rights. The letter expresses concern for Palestinian children under 18 years living “under the constant fear of arrest, detention and violence at the hands of the Israeli military”, and declares “the situation on the ground is rapidly deteriorating and we must act now”.
While the US is unable, or unwilling, to induce Netanyahu to engage the PNA in a new cycle of negotiations, it can at least intervene to stop the wanton extrajudicial killings and arrests of Palestinian youths. This is the least that Obama can do as he prepares to leave the White House. He had promised too much at the beginning of his presidency. Now he has an opportunity to step in and secure the high moral ground on this particular issue.
Osama Al Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman.