Israel must stop the unlawful detention of Palestinian children

Each year, my family marks my birthday with ambivalent feelings. It is a celebration of my existence, but also shrouded in the bitter memory of an Israeli soldiers’ raid into our home in Nablus.

On that day, my brother, who was a mere 15 years old at the time, was unjustly detained. Fortunately, he was released a year later. Now, more than three decades later, Israeli policy hasn’t changed much. The harsh reality is that hundreds of Palestinian children continue to endure the plight of being detained in Israeli prisons.

Every year, between 500 and 700 Palestinian children face the life-changing reality of Israeli military detention. Many are detained without formal charges and held indefinitely without trial, in a clear breach of international juvenile justice standards.

This means Palestinian children are the only children in the world to experience systematic prosecution under military law in military courts.

Since October 7, we have seen an unprecedented increase in Israeli military detention of Palestinian children. In just two months, Israeli forces have detained 245 children in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, a government agency responsible for the welfare and well-being of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. This is nearly half the number typically detained over an entire year - an escalation with horrifying implications for children.

Now we are seeing a similar pattern in northern Gaza. Last week, we heard disturbing reports of the detention and transfer of Palestinian boys as young as 15 years old from a school in Gaza to undisclosed locations.

Another 150 women and girls from Gaza were reportedly detained, including infants and elderly women arrested during Israel’s expanded ground invasion.

Women who were recently released from Israeli prisons have confirmed that women and girls detained in Gaza are now being held in Al-Damon prison near Haifa.

With organisations blocked from accessing detention facilities since October 7, these former prisoners are the sole source on which the wider community can now rely. We lost the ability to access hundreds of children facing long-standing damaging practices just as the number of detainees has increased.

Palestinian children in Israeli detention endure unspeakable abuses within the Israeli military system. A recent Save the Children report reveals alarming statistics: 86 percent experienced beatings, 70 percent faced threats of harm, 60 percent endured solitary confinement, and an equal percentage suffered physical assaults with sticks or guns.

Shockingly, 69 percent reported being strip-searched during interrogation, with some disclosing incidents of sexual violence. Children were denied adequate food or healthcare, 70 percent said they suffered from hunger and 68 percent said they didn’t receive any healthcare.

Levels of abuse and violence against Palestinian detainees, including children, have drastically spiked after the events of October 7, with several reports and testimonies that document torture, humiliation, severe beating, and starvation.

All while the International Committee for the Red Cross has confirmed that Palestinian prisoners have been denied contact with their families and lawyers, leaving them alone to face the horrors of Israeli military prisons in the midst of heightened violence.

Recognising the profound toll on the mental well-being of children is paramount, as underscored by unsettling statistics. Post-release, an escalating number of children grapple with the formidable challenge of resuming their normal lives. Save the Children found that more than half will experience recurrent nightmares and 73 percent suffer from insomnia or difficulty sleeping.

“I don’t sleep at night at all,” said Yazeed, who was detained when he was 17. “It’s been almost three years since I was arrested and still, I can’t sleep at night, it’s so annoying to be anxious all night.”

As many as 48 percent of former detainees feel alone and live in a perpetual state of fear after their detention. Abeer, the mother of Hani, who was detained when he was 15 years old reported that “My son became ill-tempered and isolated following release. He doesn’t like to leave his room or visit his sisters or relatives. He once said, ‘I spent 3.5 years in prison and now I feel that I can’t leave it’.”

Reflecting on my family’s experiences, my brother’s challenges in returning to school after his release from Israeli detention remains etched in our memories. He found himself grappling with the reality that all his peers had progressed to the next academic level while he had to repeat a year.

Sadly, his plight is not an isolated incident; countless child prisoners encounter formidable obstacles as they endeavour to reintegrate into everyday life following the profound trauma of their detention.

The imperative to support these children on their arduous road to recovery is clear. With the right support from their parents and community, children themselves can overcome their profound emotional distress, process their trauma, go on to live healthy lives, and contribute meaningfully to their communities.

My brother graduated from high school, studied medicine, and became a very well-loved and respected paediatrician in our community. Children are very resilient and can heal and emerge out of painful traumas, but we cannot count on that alone, and serious measures to protect them should be taken.

Ultimately, there needs to be an end to this unjust and unlawful detention of Palestinian children. An immediate moratorium is needed on Israeli military authorities arresting, detaining, and prosecuting children.

The Government of Israel must respect all children’s rights and international law, refraining from prosecuting children in courts lacking fair trial rights and juvenile justice standards. The right to safety, protection, and assistance must be fulfilled for every child remaining in Israeli military detention, shielding them from abuse and ill-treatment.

It is time for the international community to finally come together and stand against these actions, and instead advocate for a system that not only safeguards the well-being of Palestinian children but also guarantees their protection and ensures their rights as children are upheld.

Palestinian children deserve a childhood, justice, and a future liberated from the shadows of oppression. This isn’t simply an aspiration; it is their right.