Imprisoning Palestinian Children
international |
anti-war / imperialism |
other press 
Monday April 12, 2010 15:43
by pat c
Stephen Lendman writes about the ongoing Zionist campaign against Palestinian Youth. Every year, approx 700 West Bank children, are arrested, detained, interrogated, and prosecuted in Israeli military "courts". About 6,500 since 2000. Full text at link.
In June 2009, Defence for Children International (DCI)/Palestine Section published a report titled, "Palestine Child Prisoners: The systematic and institutionalized ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children by Israeli authorities."
DCI/Palestine "is a national section of the international non-government child rights organisation and movement (dedicated) to promoting and protecting the rights of Palestinian children," according to international law principles.
Since the 1967 occupation, an estimated 700,000 Palestinian men, women, and children passed through Israel's judicial system, over 150,000 tried in military courts from 1990 - 2006, the remainder handled through plea bargains for lighter sentences. On average, over 9,000 Palestinians a year are affected, including 700 children treated the same as adults.
For nearly 43 years, Israeli military justice operated "almost completely devoid of international scrutiny," giving authorities license to violate human rights and humanitarian law with impunity. As a result, due process and judicial fairness don't apply under a system denying them.