How was 2014 for Palestinian Children? via Defence for Children International Palestine 2. Military detention, solitary confinement Military detention is a reality for hundreds of Palestinian children each year, exposing them to physical and psychological violence, interrupting education, contributing to mental health issues, and placing large numbers of families under stress. This continued to be the case in 2014. This year, the average number of children held in Israeli military detention stood at 197 per month, largely unchanged from the 2013 figure of 199 per month. This stable figure, however, masks the undercurrent of change taking place within the system, with a clampdown on Palestinian youth becoming apparent in the second half of 2014. In September, a new military order, involving the interrogation of children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, appeared to safeguard children’s rights. On closer inspection, however, it became clear that children arrested for throwing stones - that is, the majority of children entangled in the Israeli military court system - would not be protected by the new law. In November, the Israeli cabinet approved a bill extending the maximum penalty for those found guilty of throwing stones to 20 years, equivalent to the longest possible sentence for manslaughter. This bill also applied to children. As a backdrop to these developments, the use of solitary confinement as a means of coercing confessions, and the arbitrary use of house arrest, continued to prevent Palestinian children from enjoying their rights as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 22:08:49 +0000
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