This report brings together several presentations that were delivered during the workshop by: Attorney Lea Tsemel; Dr. Ruchama Marton M.D.; Professor Manfred Nowak; Attorney Jamil Dakwar; Attorney Irit Ballas; Attorney Bana Shoughry-Badarne; Attorney Gerard Horton; Brigadier General (Ret.) Stephen N. Xenakis M.D.; Graciela Karmon M.D.; and Professor Lisa Hajjar

This report covers human rights abuses in 2011. Israeli security services continued to abuse and in some cases torture minors who are frequently arrested on suspicion of stone throwing to coerce confessions. Tactics included beatings, long-term handcuffing, threats, and solitary confinement. The report also notes that in 2010 the military courts achieved a conviction rate of 99.74 per cent.

This report considers the methods of detention and interrogation used on minors and the damage they cause to the mental and physical wellbeing of the child. Although each and every one of the detention and interrogation procedures mentioned can, by itself, be considered cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, the cumulative impact of these conditions, or even part of them, can constitute torture.

This report notes that since 2000, more than 7,000 children have been detained in Israeli jails. Children are often arrested in early-morning raids, during which time they are hooded, shackled and regularly subjected to abuse. Interrogations are not recorded and generally take place without the presence of a lawyer or a parent. These actions violate the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This report reviews how children accused of throwing stones are treated following the establishment of military juvenile courts in 2009. The report reviewed 835 cases of children accused of throwing stones between 2005 and 2010. The report found that the punishment imposed on minors aged 14 to 17 and the figures provided by the military do not indicate any meaningful change made by the Youth Military Court.

This report contains 47 testimonies from soldiers who have served in the West Bank and Gaza Strip relating to the treatment of children. In one testimony a former soldier describes the purpose behind the frequent incursions by the Israeli army into Palestinian villages is to create friction, just to grind the population making their lives more and more miserable in order to discourage stone throwing and resistance.

This reports presents findings from military court observations between 2010 and 2011. The report found that only about 6% of minors were released on bail whereas the rest were detained until the end of the proceedings. The vast majority of files were based on the defendants' confessions, given during police interrogations, and on incrimination by boys given in the same circumstances. 100% of cases ended in conviction.

This report considers the involvement of UK/Danish security company G4S in providing security at settlements and equipment to Israeli checkpoints and prisons. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention it is a grave breach to transfer and imprison protected persons out of occupied territory. In spite of this provision, 19 out of 20 facilities used to imprison Palestinians are located outside the West Bank.

This report covers human rights abuses in 2010. Reports indicate that Israeli authorities routinely arrested minors at checkpoints, on the street, at night, and in early morning house raids, and transfer them to one of eight detention facilities for interrogation. In most cases authorities reportedly failed to inform parents where their children would be taken. Reports also indicate torture and abuse of minors to coerce confessions.

This report documents the treatment of 121 Palestinian detainees, including 18 children, at the Petah Tikva interrogation centre in Israel. Most of the detainees were arrested from their homes in the middle of the night. On arrival at the facility the detainees were held in windowless cells, sometimes with lights left on 24 hours per day. In 78 percent of cases the detainees were held in solitary confinement.