Palestinian children are routinely subjected to night-time arrests, solitary confinement and denied legal representation.
Up to 700 Palestinian children are detained by Israel each year.
4 out of 5 Palestinian children experience physical assault during or after arrest.
Israel prosecutes Palestinian children through military courts. Palestinian children are the only children in the world prosecuted through military rather than civilian courts.
A deeper dive.
Israeli prison conditions for Palestinian children are inhumane.
Palestinian child prisoners are subjected to physical and psychological violence that amounts to torture. This is a violation of international law.
A 2020 Save the Children report showed that 80% of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons were physically beaten. More than half were threatened with harm to their families and 86% were subjected to strip searches, leaving them feeling humiliated and ashamed. Experiences like this have long-lasting impacts on children.
Palestinian child prisoners are frequently denied access to a lawyer and forced to sign false confessions.
Children as young as 12 are blindfolded, bound and shackled, and even put into solitary confinement.
Under Israeli apartheid, Palestinian children are treated very differently to Israeli children. In the occupied West Bank, Palestinian children are prosecuted through military courts, whereas Israeli children live under civilian and criminal law. This is because Israel operates two separate legal systems as part of its apartheid system: one legal system for Palestinians and another one for Israeli settlers.
Palestinian children are the only children in the world prosecuted through military courts. Each year over 500 Palestinian children are prosecuted through this system.
Israel must be held responsible for this cruelty. Join #TeamFOA today and help protect Palestinian children.
