SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Children sit in a destroyed car in Rafah, Gaza on February 28, 2024.
(Photo: AFP via Getty Images)
Israeli Military 'Terrorizing' Palestinian Children in Detention, Aid Group Says
"What we know about how these children are being treated is unacceptable, but what we don't know could be even worse," said a Save the Children official.
Feb 29, 2024
The humanitarian group Save the Children said Thursday that it has seen testimony indicating that Israeli forces are subjecting Palestinian kids held without charge in military detention to abusive and inhumane treatment, including beatings.
HaMoked, an Israel-based human rights group, estimates that Israel is currently holding around 9,000 Palestinians in its prisons without trial. Israel prosecutes up to 700 Palestinian children in secretive military courts each year, according to one advocacy group.
Citing the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Save the Children said Thursday that "conditions for children held in prisons have significantly deteriorated" in recent months, "with children who used to be housed with five detainees now sharing rooms with about 10 other detainees including adults, putting them at risk."
"Other child testimonies gathered by the organizations Defense for Children International (DCI) and YMCA—also shared with Save the Children—told of starvation, abuse, and inhumane treatment, with some children released with injuries and blood-stained clothing."
In addition to physical attacks, children held in Israeli detention have also reported psychological abuse. One child released from Israeli detention late last year as part of a hostage deal said he was "left terrified when he was called from his cell to be released, and the prison guards made him believe that he was going to be executed," according to a YMCA specialist.
"The government of Israel's blanket secrecy has left hundreds of families across Gaza and the occupied West Bank completely in the dark."
Jason Lee, Save the Children's country director in the occupied Palestinian territory, said Thursday that "what we know about how these children are being treated is unacceptable, but what we don't know could be even worse."
"The government of Israel's blanket secrecy has left hundreds of families across Gaza and the occupied West Bank completely in the dark, unaware of where their children are, whether they are safe, and the conditions and treatment that they are being subjected to," said Lee. "There's no justification for beating and stripping children, dehumanizing and terrorizing them."
"The abuse of Palestinian children in military detention was a child protection crisis before 7 October, and it has only become worse," he continued. "With the world's focus understandably on the unparalleled horrors children are facing in Gaza, we must not let abuse of children in the West Bank go unnoticed. There must be an end to this abusive military detention system and a definitive cease-fire now."
Save the Children's report comes less than two weeks after a group of United Nations experts called for an immediate investigation into reports that the IDF has arbitrarily arrested and sexually abused Palestinian women and girls in the Gaza Strip.
"Many have reportedly been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, denied menstruation pads, food and medicine, and severely beaten," the experts said. "On at least one occasion, Palestinian women detained in Gaza were allegedly kept in a cage in the rain and cold, without food."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The humanitarian group Save the Children said Thursday that it has seen testimony indicating that Israeli forces are subjecting Palestinian kids held without charge in military detention to abusive and inhumane treatment, including beatings.
HaMoked, an Israel-based human rights group, estimates that Israel is currently holding around 9,000 Palestinians in its prisons without trial. Israel prosecutes up to 700 Palestinian children in secretive military courts each year, according to one advocacy group.
Citing the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Save the Children said Thursday that "conditions for children held in prisons have significantly deteriorated" in recent months, "with children who used to be housed with five detainees now sharing rooms with about 10 other detainees including adults, putting them at risk."
"Other child testimonies gathered by the organizations Defense for Children International (DCI) and YMCA—also shared with Save the Children—told of starvation, abuse, and inhumane treatment, with some children released with injuries and blood-stained clothing."
In addition to physical attacks, children held in Israeli detention have also reported psychological abuse. One child released from Israeli detention late last year as part of a hostage deal said he was "left terrified when he was called from his cell to be released, and the prison guards made him believe that he was going to be executed," according to a YMCA specialist.
"The government of Israel's blanket secrecy has left hundreds of families across Gaza and the occupied West Bank completely in the dark."
Jason Lee, Save the Children's country director in the occupied Palestinian territory, said Thursday that "what we know about how these children are being treated is unacceptable, but what we don't know could be even worse."
"The government of Israel's blanket secrecy has left hundreds of families across Gaza and the occupied West Bank completely in the dark, unaware of where their children are, whether they are safe, and the conditions and treatment that they are being subjected to," said Lee. "There's no justification for beating and stripping children, dehumanizing and terrorizing them."
"The abuse of Palestinian children in military detention was a child protection crisis before 7 October, and it has only become worse," he continued. "With the world's focus understandably on the unparalleled horrors children are facing in Gaza, we must not let abuse of children in the West Bank go unnoticed. There must be an end to this abusive military detention system and a definitive cease-fire now."
Save the Children's report comes less than two weeks after a group of United Nations experts called for an immediate investigation into reports that the IDF has arbitrarily arrested and sexually abused Palestinian women and girls in the Gaza Strip.
"Many have reportedly been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, denied menstruation pads, food and medicine, and severely beaten," the experts said. "On at least one occasion, Palestinian women detained in Gaza were allegedly kept in a cage in the rain and cold, without food."
The humanitarian group Save the Children said Thursday that it has seen testimony indicating that Israeli forces are subjecting Palestinian kids held without charge in military detention to abusive and inhumane treatment, including beatings.
HaMoked, an Israel-based human rights group, estimates that Israel is currently holding around 9,000 Palestinians in its prisons without trial. Israel prosecutes up to 700 Palestinian children in secretive military courts each year, according to one advocacy group.
Citing the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Save the Children said Thursday that "conditions for children held in prisons have significantly deteriorated" in recent months, "with children who used to be housed with five detainees now sharing rooms with about 10 other detainees including adults, putting them at risk."
"Other child testimonies gathered by the organizations Defense for Children International (DCI) and YMCA—also shared with Save the Children—told of starvation, abuse, and inhumane treatment, with some children released with injuries and blood-stained clothing."
In addition to physical attacks, children held in Israeli detention have also reported psychological abuse. One child released from Israeli detention late last year as part of a hostage deal said he was "left terrified when he was called from his cell to be released, and the prison guards made him believe that he was going to be executed," according to a YMCA specialist.
"The government of Israel's blanket secrecy has left hundreds of families across Gaza and the occupied West Bank completely in the dark."
Jason Lee, Save the Children's country director in the occupied Palestinian territory, said Thursday that "what we know about how these children are being treated is unacceptable, but what we don't know could be even worse."
"The government of Israel's blanket secrecy has left hundreds of families across Gaza and the occupied West Bank completely in the dark, unaware of where their children are, whether they are safe, and the conditions and treatment that they are being subjected to," said Lee. "There's no justification for beating and stripping children, dehumanizing and terrorizing them."
"The abuse of Palestinian children in military detention was a child protection crisis before 7 October, and it has only become worse," he continued. "With the world's focus understandably on the unparalleled horrors children are facing in Gaza, we must not let abuse of children in the West Bank go unnoticed. There must be an end to this abusive military detention system and a definitive cease-fire now."
Save the Children's report comes less than two weeks after a group of United Nations experts called for an immediate investigation into reports that the IDF has arbitrarily arrested and sexually abused Palestinian women and girls in the Gaza Strip.
"Many have reportedly been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, denied menstruation pads, food and medicine, and severely beaten," the experts said. "On at least one occasion, Palestinian women detained in Gaza were allegedly kept in a cage in the rain and cold, without food."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.