Defence for Children-Palestine Section appealed urging the Israeli authorities to release all Palestinian children currently held in detention, according to an appeal posted Monday on DCI website.

As part of the prisoner exchange deal, the Israeli authorities released Tuesday 477 prisoners, including 27 women. The released did not include any children, the appeal said. 

On Sunday, 16 October 2011, the Israeli authorities published a list of 477 prisoners, including 27 women, to be released in the first stage on 18 October. The list does not include any children. DCI-Palestine cannot confirm how many children, if any, will be released at the second stage in December 2011.

On 11 October 2011, Israel and Hamas announced a deal to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the freeing of Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. Under the deal a total of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners are to be released in two stages beginning on 18 October, and concluding two months later.

It said that according to the latest figures released by the Israeli Prison Service and DCI-Palestine, at the end of September there were 164 Palestinian children (12-17 years) in Israeli detention facilities, including 35 young children between the ages of 12–15 years. Seventy-six of these children have been sentenced, whilst 88 children are being held in pre-trial detention.

Each year approximately 700 Palestinian children (12-17 years) from the West Bank are prosecuted in Israeli military courts after being arrested, interrogated and detained by the Israeli army, police or security agents. It is estimated that since the year 2000, around 7,500 Palestinian children have been detained and prosecuted in the system. Credible reports of torture and/or ill-treatment during the arrest, transfer and interrogation stages in the system have persisted for years. The majority of these children are charged with throwing stones.
 
The 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. The destabilising effect of these night-time arrests is compounded by the fact that few parents are informed where their child is being taken to, often in the middle of the night.

The overwhelming majority of Palestinian children in Israeli detention are held in prisons inside Israel, in violation of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which prohibits the transfer of prisoners out of occupied territory, it concluded.
Kajunason Blog

Kajunason Blog

A Tanzanian blog operating since October 2007, covering Local News, Politics, Fashion, Social Scenes, Interviews, Movies, Events, personalities and anything positive happening worldwide. Written in Swahili and English targeting both Swahili and English readers / viewers.

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