Detention figures – According to data issued quarterly by the Israel Prison Service (IPS), as of 31 December 2023, there were 8,308 Palestinians (West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza) held as “security prisoners” in detention facilities including 137 children (12-17 years). In the case of children there was an 11% increase in the number compared with the previous month and an annual increase of 15% compared with 2022. Forty-nine children were held in administrative detention without charge or trial - 1,178% above the 16-year average. According to the IPS, 49% of child detainees and 74% of adults were unlawfully transferred from the occupied West Bank to prisons in Israel in December in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Rome Statute. More statistics *Note: the IPS is yet to provide comprehensive data for Q1

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UNICEF: Widespread and systematic abuse of children - Eleven years ago, UNICEF reviewed the treatment of Palestinian children detained by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank and concluded that "ill-treatment appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalised throughout the process". Since UNICEF issued its report, MCW has collected 1,126 testimonies from Palestinian children detained in the occupied West Bank. This body of evidence indicates that in most instances the treatment of children has deteriorated, including: A 7 percent increase in night arrests; a 15 percent increase in physical abuse; a 13 percent increase in the use of solitary confinement; and a 12 percent increase in the number of children transferred out of the occupied West Bank to interrogation facilities and prisons in Israel in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Read more

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Detention update - Since 7 October 2023, 37 adult Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli custody (10 in IPS facilities, 27 in Israeli military custody). Adult and child detainees report harsh conditions including violence in prison and while being transferred to military courts. Evidence of violence and medical neglect appears to be corroborated by doctors working in field hospitals and autopsies conducted since 7 October. Further restrictions have been imposed on lawyers wishing to visit convicted prisoners. Family members continue to be denied access to the military courts due to "a lack of security staff". As of 3 March 2024, there were 793 detainees from Gaza in IPS facilities. The number of Gazans held by the Israeli army and intelligence services is unknown. Children detained from Gaza are held with adults and complaints of ill treatment are commonplace. 

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Children continue to be unlawfully transferred with impunity - According to official Israeli data, 65 percent of Palestinian children detained by the Israeli military forces in the occupied West Bank are being unlawfully detained inside Israel following their transfer from occupied territory annually. It is now 3,313 days since the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, led by Karim Khan KC, has been in receipt of incontrovertible evidence relating to the unlawful transfer of Palestinian children.  It is estimated that since this practice began, up to 32,000 Palestinian children have been unlawfully transferred. By way of contrast, it took Mr Khan's office just 364 days to investigate and obtain arrest warrants for Russians accused of transferring "hundreds" of children from occupied Ukraine to Russia. Confidence in a genuine "rules-based order" continues to haemorrhage.

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A mother's testimony - A mother from a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank describes two occasions when Israeli soldiers raided her home and arrested her two sons, aged 15 and 17 years. On both occasions the parents was not provided with any verbal or written reasons for the arrest of their children. During one raid the mother reports that three of her children were kicked and struck with guns while still in their beds. In the other raid, the commander threatened to shoot her 15-year-old son if he did not surrender himself to the military authorities. One son was held without charge or trial in administrative detention, while the other son was held for 27 days in solitary confinement. The parents became extremely concerned for their children after receiving reports of violence in prison. Both boys were released as part of a deal reached with Hamas. Read more

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A child's testimony - A 17-year-old minor describes how masked Israeli soldiers broke open the front door to his family home at 4:00 a.m. and stormed in with service dogs. The soldiers conducted a search in which they destroyed furniture and swore at the family. The soldiers arrested the minor without providing the family with verbal or written reasons. The minor reports that his hands were zip-tied so tightly that his hands swelled and turned blue. He was also blindfolded. He was then dragged out of his home barefooted and in his underwear. The minor was then transferred on the metal floor of a military vehicle as soldiers beat him. The minor was held without charge or trial in administrative detention before being released as part of a deal reached with Hamas. The minor describes how prison conditions deteriorated after 7 October 2023. Read more

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