Palestinian Children Need Protection

By MIFTAH

The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy strongly condemns the arrest of eight-year-old Omran Mansour on October 12 from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on charges of stone throwing. Mansour, who was identified on the videotape of settler leader David Be'eri running over two Palestinian children earlier this week, was taken forcefully from his home by Israeli soldiers late at night without the accompaniment of his parents.

The arrest of Palestinian children by Israeli authorities is commonplace in the occupied territories but has recently reached exceptional heights. The two children who were run over by Be'eri in the stone throwing incident were ages 10 and 11. On October 12, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch declared that "children cannot receive immunity" in cases of stone throwing. Last month, 12-year old Karam Da'an from Hebron was arrested, detained and exiled from his home for five months including being barred from attending school.

MIFTAH calls on Israel to abide by international charters and agreements protecting the rights of the child, which demand that the occupying power safeguard the rights of children living under its rule. Israel systematically arrests, tortures and tries Palestinians as adults including children as young as 12 tried in Israeli military courts.

MIFTAH also calls on the international community and those concerned with Israel's violations of Palestinian human rights to demand that Israel be held accountable for its actions. All children, regardless to their nationality, sex or religion should be treated equally, with dignity and appropriately to their status as minors.

DCI Report: IOA child arrests on the rise

RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The Defense for Children International (DCI) marked a sharp rise this year in Israeli arrests against Palestinian children in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

According to Military Order 1591, military commanders may legally place Palestinian citizens under administrative detention without charges or trial for up to six months. The order also allows for sentences in such cases to be extended.

Six months after Military Order 1644, relating to juvenile military courts, took effect, no changes were reportedly made in the military courts’ attitude as relates to trials against minors. However, in most cases there is a room inside military courts allocated for examining child-related cases.

The change is considered a formality and does not meet minimum standards for fair trials against children as guaranteed by international conventions and principles.

The movement said based on the testimonies of some children who were released from detention, Israeli police treated minors poorly and physically and morally tortured them to force out confessions.

The use of violence when arresting children in front of their families with the use of beatings and intimidation with dogs could be a blatant expression to perpetuate the use of violence against children, the movement noted.

The movement also highlighted recent decisions issued by Israeli courts sentencing children to be expelled from their homes.

hettlers attempt to kidnap toddler in al-Khalil, beat up boy in Jerusalem

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC) A number of extremist Jewish settlers tried on Wednesday evening to kidnap a 3-year-old Palestinian toddler in the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil, according to Palestinian security sources.

The sources added that the settlers attempted to kidnap Mustafa Qafisha from the old city, but the toddler's mother and her neighbor stopped them and were themselves beaten up by the settlers.

Meanwhile IOF troops arrested on Thursday morning a Palestinian man in the town of Dura to the south of al-Khalil while taking his 4-year-old daughter to the kindergarten.

Meanwhile in Jerusalem, an IOF ordered a boy to stay away from his home, in Sheikh Jarrah suburb, for 15 days after he was beaten by seven extremist Jewish settlers and arrested by the IOF.

Instead of arresting the seven assailants who beat up Ayman al-Ghawi and broke his nose the Israeli occupation police detained and questioned the Palestinian boy and released him ordering him to stay away from his home for 15 days.

Palestinian child injured in Silwan confrontations

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- A ten-year-old Palestinian child was hit with a sonic bomb in his eye and a rubber bullet in his leg during an Israeli police raid into Silwan in occupied Jerusalem on Monday night.

Local sources said that the occupation policemen broke into the town, south of the Aqsa Mosque, and burst into many homes at the conclusion of which they detained four minors.

Witnesses reported that the security men terrorized civilians, especially children and women, during their raid that also witnessed breaking doors and windows of numerous houses.

The sources said that Suleiman Siyam, 10, was rushed to hospital, adding that border police in plain clothes apprehended four children in one of the town's suburbs in the age category 11 to 13.

Israeli occupation forces (IOF), meanwhile, bulldozed lands in Beit Fajjar village, Bethlehem district, at a late hour on Monday night and destroyed a caravan owned by Raed Takatka.

The Israeli military authorities banned Palestinian farmers of Masha village, west of Salfit district, from entering their land located behind the separation wall to harvest their olives.

Local sources said that 20 farmers were waiting since the early morning hours on Monday to reach their land but the IOF soldiers did not allow them to pass.

They said that more than 1,000 dunums of olive groves owned by Palestinians lay behind the wall, and their owners could not harvest their olives due to the Israeli ban.