Palestinian Children in “Israeli” Jails: Coming Freedom?

The West Bank children were either sentenced or are being detained, mainly for stone-throwing, according to the UN Children's Fund which, along with other international NGOs, is appealing to the "Israeli" government to release all Palestinian children from the Zionist military detention.

Not sure that children will be part of the second wave of 550 releases in the coming two months, UNICEF called on the "Israeli" government to release Palestinian child detainees so that they can be reunited with their families."
"As stated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the detention of children should be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time," UNICEF special representative in occupied Palestinian Jean Gough called.

Rami AbuHaneieh, aged 14 and from "al-Khalil", was arrested by "Israeli" forces one month ago for throwing stones. "I have not been permitted to see or speak with him since his arrest," said his mother, Khloud AbuHaneieh, a primary school teacher.
International NGO Defense for Children International-Palestine Section also issued an urgent appeal for the children to be freed.

According to the latest figures released by the "Israeli" Prison Service and DCI-Palestine, on 1 October there were 164 Palestinian children (aged 12-17) in "Israeli" jails, including 35 aged 12-15. Seventy-six of these children have been sentenced, while 88 children are being held in pre-trial detention.

Sabri Awad, 16, from Beit Umr, near al-Khalil, was arrested and detained by "Israeli" soldiers three weeks ago. "Our family and his lawyer have not been allowed to see or speak with him," said his 18-year-old brother, Yousif Awad, unsure why Sabri was arrested.

According to DCI, reports of torture and/or ill-treatment during the arrest transfer and interrogation stages in the system, when children may be pressured to sign confessions, have persisted for years.

"Ill-treatment starts at the moment of arrest, when many children report experiencing terrifying night-time raids on the family home, before being tied, often painfully so, and blindfolded," reports DCI.

Also, children continue to be interrogated in the absence of a lawyer and/or a parent, and continue to be denied bail in around 90 percent of cases in violation of Article 37(b) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, according to DCI.

Hamas deputy foreign minister Ghazi Hamad informed that "nearly 200 children and medical patients being held in "Israeli" prisoner may be part of the second wave of prisoner releases