[19 January 2019] - Until recently public access to hearings in Israeli military courts in the West Bank was generally permitted upon application. In practice, the general policy to allow public access to hearings involving children has now changed, with most military judges excluding outside observers even in cases where parents have requested their presence. Although this development is framed in terms of the “best interests” of the child, this claim cannot be verified as the judges rarely provide adequate reasons for their decisions or attempt to ascertain the child’s best interests.