Detention figures – The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) has not provided updated prison statistics in accordance with a Freedom of Information (FOI) application since August 2016. According to the IPS a new FOI officer was appointed in December 2016 and advised that the provision of monthly prisons statistics would resume within weeks. In February the IPS re-commenced supplying prison data but failed to disaggregate the information based on whether the detainee was Israeli or Palestinian. The IPS is now 9 months behind in the provision of prison statistics relating to Palestinians, including children, held in its facilities. More statistics
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The UNICEF Report - 4 years on - This month marks the fourth anniversary since the publication of the UNICEF report -
Children in Israeli Military Detention. Following a review of the system, which included analysing over 400 affidavits collected from detained children, the UN agenc
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y concluded that: "The ill-treatment of children who come in contact with the military detention system appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalized throughout the process." UNICEF also made 38 recommendations based on Israel's legal obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Israeli military and civilian law and accepted international norms relevant to the treatment of children in custody. A motion in the UK Parliament (
EDM 1032) also marked the anniversary.
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US State Department's Human Rights Report for 2016 - On 3 March 2017, the US State Department released its annual report on human rights for 2016. (
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016 - Israel and The Occupied Territories). The report is mandated by Congress and documents human rights conditions in nearly 200 countries and territories. Diplomats posted to US embassies compile the information included in the report. As in previous years the report highlights various human rights violations by multiple actors in Israel/Palestine and includes information on the treatment of children in military detention. In a break with tradition neither the Secretary of State nor a senior State Department official launched this year's report.
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The right to a lawyer and admissibility of evidence in the military courts: New decision - On 22 February 2017, a judge at Ofer military court rejected the admissibility of a statement taken from a 15-year-old boy during interrogation on the basis that,
inter alia, the boy was denied access to a lawyer prior to interrogation as required under military law (
Military Prosecutor v Anonymous (Case 2030/16) (English))
. This decision has potential significance, as there is
evidence to indicate that up to 90 percent of children detained by the military in the West Bank continue to be interrogated without prior access to a lawyer. The decision involves the case of a 15-year-old boy who, in the company of other boys, is alleged to have been involved in throwing Molotov cocktails at a military sentry point in Hebron on or about 1 December 2015.
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Supreme Court petition: Social welfare reports for bail applications in the military courts - On 27 February 2017, the law firm of Gaby Lasky & Partners filed a petition in Israel's Supreme Court (Anonymous v Commander of IDF Forces in Judea and Samaria (2017) (Hebrew)) seeking an order requiring the production of social welfare reports at every remand hearing involving a child (12-17 years inclusive) in the Israeli military courts in the West Bank (the military courts). The petition seeks to address a fundamental shortcoming in the military courts whereby the overwhelming majority of Palestinian children continue to be denied bail and are held in custody on remand pending the conclusion of the legal proceedings. In the absence of a social welfare report the military judges have almost no evidence to inform their decision.
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A child's testimony - On 11 January 2017, a 12-year-old boy from Al 'Arrub refugee camp was detained by Israeli under cover soldiers at 10:00 a.m. during clashes. He was accused of throwing stones. "I was walking home after a school exam at around 10:00 a.m. As I approached the area near the cemetery I saw a group of boys throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. Then I saw three men in civilian clothes suddenly appear from the cemetery. They approached me and one of them started to beat me and then pushed me to the ground. It was then that I realised they were Israeli Special Forces in civilian clothes. One of the men tied my hands behind my back with three plastic ties: one on each wrist and one connecting the two. The ties were painful. Then he pointed a gun to my head and told me not to move.
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A soldier's video testimony: "That's us" - In this video a former female soldier provides a testimony to Breaking the Silence about daily abuse occurring in Hebron. "Our violent behavior eventually included daily abuse of the Palestinian residents, daily delays of Palestinians and Palestinian families, children, parents, adults and aged people ... for hours on end. It was about taking prisoners and putting cigarettes out on them, not giving them any water or food for days, abusing them with physical blows, tightening the restraints on their hands and legs, hassling them to get up and sit down, get up and sit down ... Think about a person tied up before you. Every attempt to get up and sit down is difficult for him, so think what happens when he does it 50 times in 5 minutes."
View video
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