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Newsletter - February 2018

Detention figures

According to the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), as of 31 December 2017 there were 5,976 Palestinians (West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza) held as “security prisoners” in Israeli detention facilities including 352 children (12-17 years). In the case of children there was a 12 percent increase in the number compared with the previous month but an annual decrease of 17 percent compared with 2016. These figures include 2 children held in administrative detention. According to the IPS, 52 percent of child detainees were transferred and/or detained inside Israel in violation of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention during the month.
More statistics >>

UK parliamentary debate: Military detention of Palestinian children by Israeli authorities

On 7 February 2018, the UK Parliament debated the military detention of Palestinian children by Israeli authorities. This is the second time in two years that the issue has been debated in the UK Parliament, the first debate occurring on 6 January 2016. The motion was moved by Sarah Champion MP (Labour) who has visited the region on two occasions and attended hearings in Ofer military court, near Jerusalem. In her opening remarks, Ms. Champion stated that the intention of calling the debate was "to support and encourage Israel to meet its international obligations with regards to the rights of children."
See VIDEO / TRANSCRIPT

No UNICEF updates for 3 years

February marked 3 years since UNICEF published its last update to the 2013 report - Children in Israeli Military Detention [pdf] - which concluded that "the ill-treatment of children who come in contact with the military detention system appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalized." Following the release of the UNICEF report and its 38 recommendations, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it would “study the conclusions and work to implement them through on-going cooperation with UNICEF”. In accordance with this commitment the Ministry appointed the then military prosecutor in the West Bank, Lt. Col. Maurice Hirsch, as the "focal point for dialogue with UNICEF".
Read more >>

A child’s testimony

On 2 January 2018, a 15-year-old youth from Al’Arrub camp was arrested by Israeli soldiers at 2:00 a.m. The family was provided with a document in Hebrew. He reports being interrogated without being informed of his right to silence. He is released on 18 January after paying a fine. “I heard loud banging at around 2:00 a.m. and I thought it was the wind. Then I heard a voice saying “open up, open up”. My father opened the door and four Israeli soldiers entered our home. It was raining and the soldiers walked into our house with mud on their boots. My mother was very upset. The commander called our names and asked for me. Then he told me to get ready because they wanted to take me away.”
Read more >>

BBC Hardtalk: Breaking the Silence

In-depth, hard-hitting interviews with newsworthy personalities. “The Israeli Defence Force sees itself as an institution that binds the nation together. Most young Israelis serve in its ranks after leaving school. It claims to combine defence of the State with a sense of moral purpose. My guest today served in the IDF but he sees an institution in denial, corroded and corrupted by the military occupation of Palestinian communities over a 50-year span. Avner Gvaryahu, and like-minded soldiers turned dissidents, say they are breaking the silence. Are they patriots or traitors?”
Watch interview >>

MCW Briefing Note (Feb 2018)

This Note considers recent developments in the military detention system including: status of progress made in implementing the recommendations included in the UK lawyers’ and UNICEF reports; 98 percent of children detained in the West Bank live within 1.02 kilometres from an Israeli settlement; 61 percent of children detained in the West Bank in 2017 were unlawfully transferred out of occupied territory in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court according to official data; and ill-treatment and denial of legal rights continues to be “widespread, systematic and institutionalized”.
Read more [pdf] >>

Source: Military Court Watch, Newsletter, Feb. 2018 >>

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Military Court Watch - Newsletter February 2018