Newsletter - March 2022
Detention figures – According to data issued quarterly by the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), as of 31 December 2021, there were 4,271 Palestinians (West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza) held as “security prisoners” in detention facilities including 145 children (12-17 years). In the case of children there was a 6% decrease in the number compared with the previous month and an annual decrease of 8% compared with 2020. Five children were held in administrative detention. According to the IPS, 64% of child detainees were transferred to prisons inside Israel in violation of the Fourth Geneva Conventionand the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. More statistics
(Note: As of 7 April 2022, the IPS has not released data for January, February and March 2022)
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The UNICEF Report - 9 years on - In 2013 UNICEF published the report -
Children in Israeli Military Detention – following a review of Israel's military detention system including over 400 affidavits. After considering the treatment of children from the time of their arrest, transfer to interrogation centres, prosecution in military courts and ultimate incarceration, 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 throughout the process.” Based on nearly
950 testimonies collected by Military Court Watch since the publication of the report, 97 percent of UNICEF’s recommendations remain substantially unimplemented.
Read more
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Solitary confinement cases surge - In 2021 MCW issued a
report highlighting the increased use of solitary confinement on children during the interrogation phase of their detention. The report noted that the use of this practice has risen from 4 percent to 20 percent of cases. Since the release of this report, and based on
60 testimonies collected from children detained in 2021, the use of solitary confinement is now being used in 50 percent of cases. It should be noted that the general consensus is that the use of solitary confinement on children violates the prohibition against torture and can lead to
self-harm and
attempted suicide. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has been in possession of evidence relating to this issue since December 2021.
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A child's testimony - On 21 October 2021, a 17-year-old minor from Beit Fajjar was arrested by Israeli soldiers from home at 3:00 a.m. He reports briefly consulting with a lawyer on the phone prior to interrogation and being informed of his right to silence. "I was arrested form home at around 3:00 a.m. I was asleep when I heard loud banging at our front door just as my sister came to alert me. My father rushed to open the door before it was broken down and about 10 Israeli soldiers entered our home. The soldiers asked my father for our identity cards and then the commander told him they wanted to take me away for questioning. They searched the house without causing any damage and then they took me outside."
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