Palestinian children routinely jailed for throwing stones, report finds
11:10 am - July 26th 2011
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contribution by Libby Powell
In an Israeli military detention centre in January 2011, an interrogator addressed a boy. Blindfolded and bound, 16-year-old Malek would later remember the words: “My name’s Abu Ahmad and I’ll give you five minutes to think and then confess to throwing stones.”
In the West Bank, stones are everywhere.
They litter the pale, rocky slopes on which Palestinian villages and Israeli settlements perch, side by side. Children, too, are everywhere. They make up over half of Palestine’s population and suffer the same realities and frustrations of conflict as the adults.
During the first intifada, the image of a child throwing a stone at a tank became an icon of the Palestinian struggle. Today, as the Separation Wall and settlements expand across the West Bank, the children still reach for rocks to sling at military vehicles as they roll by.
But two human rights groups have this week published reports that uncover the price Palestinian children pay for their actions. Israeli organization B’Tselem has released ‘No Minor Matter’, a study of children like Malek – arrested on suspicion of throwing stones between 2005 and 2010.
Of the 853 children arrested, all were prosecuted, and 852 were jailed.
Photo by ISM Palestine under a CC licence.
In response, the Israeli military have said that these are children exploited by extremist groups and the sentences act as a necessary deterrent. But lawyer Gerard Horton, who works for Defence for Children International (DCI), reminds us that these are the actions of children, not terrorists. ‘Boys worldwide throw stones. In Palestine, when the Israeli military come into these children’s villages, some boys do throw stones out of anger and frustration in an act of spontaneous resistance.’
Each year, approximately 700 Palestinian children are arrested and prosecuted in military courts, the majority on charges of throwing stones. These courts can and do imprison children as young as 12, even though Israeli civilian law prohibits the imprisoning of a child under 14 years of age.
According to B’Tselem’s latest report, 60 per cent of the children jailed for stone throwing between 2005 and 2010 were aged 14 or under. Prison terms range from a few days to over a year. One 14-year-old boy was sentenced to 20 months, while nearly a third of minors aged 14-15 are locked up for four months or more.
The majority of children are imprisoned inside Israel – an act which violates Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. In practical terms, this makes it difficult, and in some cases impossible for their parents to visit them. To add to their isolation, they are also barred from using a phone.
Reports of torture and mistreatment are common. A report submitted to the UN Special Reporteur on Torture by the DCI, a day after B’Tselem went public with its findings, outlines grave concerns about the systematic mistreatment of children held in Israeli military detention.
Child suspects are often taken by the military from the family home at night. Once arrested, the report states that they are often beaten before being blindfolded and their hands tied: ‘The child will then be placed into the back of a military vehicle where they usually suffer further physical and psychological abuse on the way the interrogation and detention centre.’
The interrogation of Yasser, 15, lasted for over an hour.
A policeman came into the room. He grabbed my neck and pushed so hard that it nearly choked me. He kept pushing down on my neck for about two minutes for no reason,’ he says. ‘The other interrogator didn’t interfere at all. He just kept laughing.
Confessions tend to be drawn out after hours of questioning and without the presence of a parent or a lawyer. In 9 per cent of cases recorded by the DCI, the children spent between 24 hours to 20 days in solitary confinement.
Underlining their report to the UN, the DCI has called for practical action to be taken to ensure that every child arrested is accompanied by a family member and a lawyer. They have also called for every interrogation to be audio-visually recorded.
“Short of bringing the occupation to an end, there is little we can do to stop this,” says Horton. “However, we can limit some of the damage by demanding independent oversight inside the interrogation room.”
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First posted at the New Internationalist blog
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Reader comments
Great stuff Libby!
What all you lazy Israel-bashers fail to appreciate is that a nuclear-armed regional military superpower has the right to defend itself by imprisoning 12 year old children who might be throwing stones at it.
I’ve lost interest, I’m only interested in protecting Oil producing countries because well they need our protection.
Boys worldwide throw stones.
Yep. And if they smash a window, they get yelled at – the world over.
But isn’t it different when what they are throwing their stones at ….are the heads of passing Jews?
So throwing stones at police (we don’t have the army on the streets) in Britain would not get you arrested then?
In fact, for this article to have any use at all, you might want to find a country which allows the throwing of stones (which are common in lots of the world, not just the West Bank…) without consequences.
Not an attempt to defend Israel (I’m against the settlements and pro-independent Palestine for what its worth). Just pointing out this is a stupid article which seems to ignore the basic fact that even occupying powers tend to enforce laws…
Nice work, @4 and @5, you’ve managed to ignore all the details of the article and mount a pointless defence of barbaric practices including holding children without trial, forcing confessions, police brutality, excessive prison sentences and violation of the Geneva Convention.
You must be so proud!
So its now cool to throw stones at Jews?
OK, right on.
@6
There is simply no level of parody that apologists for the occupation are incapable of exceeding. Enjoy it. These guys are talented comedians.
[deleted]
The issue of the arrest and imprisonment of minors is important and should be brought to wider attention. I’m not convinced that the matter is as clear cut as either side would have us believe. I don’t really want to get involved in that question.
However, the article contains a blatant contradiction. Above the picture we’re told that 853 children have been arrested for stone throwing in the 5 years from 2005 to 2010. That comes to about 170 a year. Yet later we’re told that each year about 700 children are arrested the majority of whom are arrested for throwing stones. That’s about 350 a year.
The original B’Tselem report doesn’t appear to mention the 700 figure.
Could the author please clarify this point?
@6 – Right, and you’ve managed to swallow a report by a propaganda organisation whole. I’d suggest imodium, you’ll need it.
No-one seems to have a problem with the Met police arresting kinds in their early teens folllowing the London riots; but when Israel does it, it’s a violation of human rights… maybe we should stop being such hypocrites
“No-one seems to have a problem with the Met police arresting kinds in their early teens folllowing the London riots; but when Israel does it, it’s a violation of human rights… maybe we should stop being such hypocrites.”
Compare this:
Since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in September 2000 – which marked the beginning of the most recent upsurge in violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – at least 954 Palestinian and 123 Israeli children under the age of 18 have been killed, according to B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights monitoring group.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_in_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict
Soon after the Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon, the guards of the notorious Khiam prison fled, leaving the prisoners free.
More than 100 men women and children had been held in appalling conditions.
The jail is now empty and a flag of the Lebanese Hezbollah is posted at the gates, but the prisoners’ testimonies and the cells bear witness to what went on inside.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/766746.stm
Reactions: Twitter, blogs
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Liberal Conspiracy
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jennifer roberts
Palestinian children routinely jailed for throwing stones, report finds http://bit.ly/napDgs
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Ben White
Palestinian children routinely jailed for throwing stones, report finds | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/Sde42IY via @libcon
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Nadine ? ø lll·o.
Palestinian children routinely jailed for throwing stones, report finds | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/Sde42IY via @libcon
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Farid
Palestinian children routinely jailed for throwing stones, report finds | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/Sde42IY via @libcon
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Jodi Bailey
What the hell?? RT @libcon: Palestinian children routinely jailed for throwing stones, report finds http://bit.ly/napDgs
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maya
Palestinian children routinely jailed for throwing stones, report finds | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/Sde42IY via @libcon
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LDFoP
Palestinian children routinely prosecuted in military courts and jailed for throwing stones at occupation forces: http://bit.ly/qdiPjS
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Daniel Furr
Palestinian children routinely prosecuted in military courts and jailed for throwing stones at occupation forces: http://bit.ly/qdiPjS
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Kelly
Palestinian children routinely prosecuted in military courts and jailed for throwing stones at occupation forces: http://bit.ly/qdiPjS
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Matthew Doye
Palestinian children routinely prosecuted in military courts and jailed for throwing stones at occupation forces: http://bit.ly/qdiPjS
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Dale Cox
Palestinian children routinely prosecuted in military courts and jailed for throwing stones at occupation forces: http://bit.ly/qdiPjS
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Stephe Meloy
Palestinian children routinely jailed for throwing stones, report finds http://bit.ly/napDgs
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