Newsletter - April 2020
Detention figures – According to the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), as of 30 April 2020 there were 4,331 Palestinians (West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza) held as “security prisoners” in detention facilities including 168 children (12-17 years). In the case of children there was a 13% decrease in the number compared with the previous month and an annual decrease of 6% compared with 2019. One child is currently held in
administrative detention. According to the IPS, 76% of child detainees were forcibly transferred and/or unlawfully detained in Israel in April in violation of
Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
More statistics
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Evidence update – In 2013,
UNICEF concluded that “the ill-treatment of children who come in contact with [Israel’s] military detention system appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalized.” Based on recent evidence collected by MCW, 56 percent of children who come in contact with the system continue to report experiencing some form of physical abuse in addition to painful hand-ties and blindfolds. Reported abuse includes: being
kicked and slapped by soldiers in the back of military vehicles; being
struck with weapons, such as the back of a gun; and
punched in the head while blindfolded.
Comparative Graph
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Australia files submission disputing ICC’s jurisdiction – Australia is one of only six countries with no direct connection to the conflict to have made submissions to the International Criminal Court supporting Israel’s claim that the Court has no jurisdiction over the conflict (joining Uganda, Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria and Germany). While claiming that “Australia is a strong proponent of accountability for serious international crimes” Australia’s
submission argues that the Court has no jurisdiction as Palestine is not a “State” for the purposes of the Rome Statute. The chief legal officer with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs recently told a Senate Committee that Israel had “encouraged us to make observations” to the court.
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UK Foreign Office provides non-responsive answer to question involving the forcible transfer of children – On 28 April 2020,
the Foreign Office was asked what representations they have made to the government of Israel about statistics published in February indicating that 75 per cent of Palestinian child detainees were held in Israel in contravention of Article 76 of the fourth Geneva Convention; and what was the outcome of any such representations. On 13 May 2020, the government responded on behalf of the Foreign Office but did not specifically address the war crime of forcibly transferring children from occupied territory.
Question HL 3611
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A child’s testimony – On 28 March 2020, a 13-year-old minor from Kafr Qaddum was arrested by Israeli soldiers at 4:00 p.m. He reports being questioned by a soldier without first being informed of his legal rights under military law.
“At around 4:00 p.m. there were clashes in my village with Israeli soldiers. My brother and I were at home when all of a sudden a group of soldiers banged at our front door. They kept banging and my mother finally opened the door. Five soldiers entered our home while others remained outside. They were tense and on high alert. The soldiers immediately approached me and wanted to take me away. The soldiers pushed my 70-year-old grandmother to the ground but luckily she was not hurt."
Read more
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A soldier’s video testimony: “Weapons search” – In this video a female former Israeli soldier provides a testimony to Breaking the Silence describing how she asked to go on a night raid of a Palestinian home out of curiosity. The soldier searched the women of the house. “The first thing I remember of this experience, is the woman’s look as she looked at me. I was ashamed. I felt that I was being rude to have come just out of curiosity. Just because I wanted to be part of the group and I wanted to be there and see what was happening. I entered her house at 2 A.M. and I just looked around, looked at everything. Many policemen came in and started ransacking everything.”
Watch video
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