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 detentionwithout 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 the Rome Statute. More statistics          

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The link between illegal settlements and child detention - Evidence collected over a 12-year period establishes a direct link between illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and the detention of Palestinian children in the same territory. The link is both geographical and logistical. Once detained, the evidence establishes a spiral of injustice including: torture and ill-treatment, denial of basic legal rights in a military justice system; and the unlawful transfer out of occupied territory in violation of international law. In response to what amounts to a state sponsored war crime, after 56 years the US, EU, UK, Canada and Australia have imposed sanctions on a handful of inconsequential settlers, while shielding the political, legal and military establishments, as well as domestic and international financiers of the settlement project. Read more

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Detention update - Israeli prisons holding Palestinian "security detainees" remain in lock-down mode. Reports from the prisons and military courts include: high levels of violence; overcrowded cells; no family visits or phone calls; limited access to lawyers; limited medical care; poor quality and quantity of food; limited access to showers or clean clothes; and no education. A recent report by Israel's Public Defender's Office found "intolerable overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions, hygiene problems, infestations and cold cells" with 3,400 prisoners sleeping on floors. The military authorities have activated article 33 of Military Order 1651 extending to 8 days the time within which a suspect must be brought before a military judge. About 20 lawyers announced a short-lived strike of the military courts in protest of their working conditions. One family member is now permitted to attend hearings which are mostly conducted on Zoom. Access to hearings by outside observers is still limited.

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Unlawful transfer of Palestinian children from occupied territory - According to official Israeli data, 49 percent of Palestinian children held in Israeli military detention in December 2023, were transferred from the occupied West Bank to prisons inside Israel in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Based on official Israeli data, it is estimated that up to 32,000 Palestinian children have been unlawfully transferred since 1967. While the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, now led by Karim Khan KC, has been in possession of this evidence since 16 March 2015, no discernable action has been taken. Meanwhile, it took Mr. Khan's office just 364 days to investigate and obtain arrest warrants for the unlawful transfer of "hundreds" of children from Ukraine to the Russian Federation, giving rise to the perception that the court has been politicised.

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A child's testimony - A 17-year-old Palestinian minor describes waking up to the sound of Israeli soldiers breaking down the front door to his home at 4:00 a.m. After search the minor's home "turning everything upside down" he was shackled and blindfolded and taken away. His family was not told why he was being detained and they were not given any documentation - contrary to Israeli military regulations. He reports being transferred to Etzion settlement for interrogation on the floor of a military jeep while being beaten "all over my body". The minor reports having a brief phone call with a lawyer while his interrogator listened on speaker phone. He was not informed of his right to silence. Although taken to Ofer military court, the minor was not charged with an offence but given an administrative detention order instead. He reports harsh prison conditions after 7 October 2023. Read more

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