Newsletter - June 2018

Detention figures

According to the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), as of 31 May 2018 there were 5,732 Palestinians (West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza) held as “security prisoners” in Israeli detention facilities including 291 children(12-17 years). In the case of children there was an 8% decrease in the number compared with the previous month and an annual increase of 4% compared with 2017. These figures include 3 children heldin administrative detention. According to the IPS, 52% of child detainees were unlawfully transferred and/or detained inside Israel in violation of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention during the month. Child detention rates are currently up 62% since UNICEF published its child detention report in 2013.
More statistics >> 

MCW Annual Report

A new report by Military Court Watch considers developments relating to the arrest and detention of children by the Israeli military in the West Bank in 2017 and 2018. In addition to reviewing relevant legal and procedural changes in the system the report considers the findings from 114 testimonies obtained from children detained during the course of 2017, and considers the trends based on 604 testimonies obtained since 2013.While noting a number of relevant changes to the system in recent years, the evidence suggests that this has not translated into a significant improvement in the treatment of children who come in contact with the system. Annual Report (2017/18) 

UN Secretary General extensively reduces focus on children in military detention

On 27 June 2018, the UN released the Annual Report of the Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) in New York. The report notes that the “United Nations obtained affidavits from 162 Palestinian boys who had been detained by Israeli forces, in which they stated that they had been subjected to ill-treatment and breaches of due process.” This year the report devoted 129 words to the issue of Palestinian child detainees compared to 474 words in the Annual Report in 2013. This represents a 73 percent reduction in five years in circumstances where the UN has collected 51 percent more evidence than five years ago and detention rates are up 62 percent. 
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UK Lawyers’ Report – 6 years on

The month of June marks 6 years since a delegation of UK lawyers reviewed the treatment of Palestinian children under Israeli military law and published their findings and recommendations. The original delegation was comprised of 9 lawyers: Greg Davies, Jayne Harrill, Marianna Hildyard QC, Judy Khan QC, Jude Lanchin, Marc Mason, Frances Oldham QC, the Rt Hon the Baroness Patricia Scotland of Asthal QC (former Shadow Attorney General and Attorney General of England, Wales and Northern Ireland andthe Rt Hon Sir Stephen Sedley (formerly Lord Justice Sedley). During the intervening 6 years just 1 of the report’s 40 recommendations has been substantially implemented. 
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Military Order 1798

On 24 April 2018, Military Order 1798 came into effect introducing amendments to Military Order 1651. This order reduces a number of time periods relating to children in the military courts including: maximum period of detention for questioning before being brought before a judge; maximum period of detention prior to indictment; and maximum period of detention between indictment and conclusion of the trial.Following these amendments there still remains a differential between the time periods applied to Israeli children living in settlements in the West Bank and Palestinian children living in the same territory and subjected to military law infringing the prohibition against discrimination based on race or national identity by a state exercising penal jurisdiction over persons in the same territory. English / Hebrew

A child’s testimony

On 7 May 2018, a 13-year-old boy from Azzun was detained by soldiers at 5:00 p.m. while inside a shop. He reports being interrogated without first being informed of his right to consult with a lawyer or his right to silence. He was released without charge at 1:30 a.m. “I was at a local store when I saw a patrol of Israeli soldiers in the street and I started to film them on my mobile phone. It was around 5:00 p.m. Then, without any notice, the soldiers came over and accused me of throwing stones at them. I was terrified and before I knew it I was thrown into the back of a jeep. Once inside the jeep the soldiers started to shout at me and ask me why I threw stones at them.” 
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Source: Military Court Watch, Newsletter, June 2018 >>

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