Defense for Children International said that 85% of the arrested children were subjected to physical violence by the occupation forces during the period of their detention (68% were handcuffed and 91% were blindfolded), according to the documents it collected. The movement through the testimonies of 79 detained children from the West Bank last year.
The movement added in a statement today, Sunday, on the occasion of the Day of the Palestinian Child, that the Israeli occupation authorities continue their violations against Palestinian children despite the spread of the "Corona" pandemic, as most of them, or about 57%, were arrested from their homes at night, and 76% of them were not informed. About the reason for the arrest.
The movement continued that it documented 27 cases in which the occupation held children in solitary confinement for the purposes of investigation for a period of two days or more, a practice that amounts to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, adding that the longest period of solitary confinement documented by the movement last year was for a period of 32 days.
The movement stated that, since October 2015 until today, it has documented the issuance of administrative detention orders against 36 children, two of whom are still under administrative detention, stressing that children who are arrested by the occupation forces and tried in the Israeli military court system do not have the right to have a lawyer or a member present. Family during interrogation.
In light of the spread of the "Corona" virus, the movement indicated that Palestinian children inside the occupation prisons often live in poor sanitary conditions, and lack the resources and tools that enable them to maintain basic hygiene, including disinfection and sterilization materials that limit the spread of the virus.
In terms of the right to life, the occupation continued to target children for the purpose of killing or wounding. During the past year, 9 children were killed, ranging in age from 14 to 17 years, 7 of them in the West Bank and two in the Gaza Strip, while since the beginning of this year it killed a child in the governorate. Salfit.
Under international law, deliberate lethal force can only be justified in circumstances where there is a direct threat to life or serious injury. However, investigations and evidence gathered by Defense for Children International indicate that the occupation forces are using lethal force against Palestinian children in unjustified circumstances. It may amount to extrajudicial killing or premeditated murder.
