405 Palestinian students under 18 in Israeli detention camps

More than 4000 Palestinian children have been arrested since the start of the current Intifada on 28 September 2000. Today, there are 405 students still in detention camps and have been suffering all kinds of torture, bad treatments and living under difficult medical and psychological circumstances by Israeli army and intelligence.

According to recent statistics made by the ministry of education and higher education concerning the imprisoned children from both Gaza and the West Bank and were distributed as follow: 3 from Gaza and 384 from the West Bank, 19 from Jerusalem, 66 from Nablus, 41 from Ramallah , 38 from Hebron, 9 from South Hebron ,13 from Jenin,136 from Bethlehem, and 4 girls.

The statistics showed that the arrested students were from primary and secondary schools, in order to prohibit them from having their basic right of education, and living their lives in peace like all other children of the world to dream in a promising future.

The statistics also showed that the number of arrested children last year alone were 226, and 70 of them (21%) were having different kinds of diseases from the bad and very rough treatment by their jailers, and they were deprived from their basic medical care.

According to the captive association, witnesses, and detained children relatives, 99% of these children have been suffering from inhuman treatment, insulting, and tortured by hitting them all over their bodies by the Israeli army intelligence, 500 of the children have been detained under 18 years of old and they are now over 18 years and still in detention camps.

Denying them from their basic rights

These children have been suffering from difficult and bad circumstances in the Israeli detention camps, there are 42 of them very sick and have been denied medical treatment, visitation rights by lawyers and families, being put in dark prison cells, giving poor and under nutrition food, unhealthy shower and bathrooms, no counselors and psychiatrists, being harassed sexually by hard Israeli criminals, punished as group and have been exposed to contagious diseases. All of these are against international human right laws and in particular the international child protection agreement and the Geneva fourth agreement.

Fear and Panic

These detained children are living in continuous panic and fear from daily barbaric assaults and torture by their captives and army intelligence and in particular the investigators who forces them to admit participating in the Intifada and doing acts they did not do, in addition they uses all kinds of psychological pressures against these children human dignity and rights. These detained children are also being put with Israeli drug attics, gangs and criminals who continue to threat their lives using sharp blades and in some cases molesting them. These children are prevented from all their basic rights and needs despite the different in religion and nationality allowed by international laws and agreements. These detained children have been arrested randomly and not knowing why they have been arrested and where they are being held and have been staying long time without a lawyer and with no right to inform their families. According to the international human right law, these detained children have the right to a lawyer and the right to inform his/her family of the arrest and the right to know the reason of the arrest, and owns the right to object the accusation and contesting it and the right to contact the out side world, and the right to have human treatment and human dignity. According to the detained children witnesses, the Israeli authority and prison administration refuses to transfer sick detained children to the hospital for treatment and medical care, and in some cases they suffer from the medical staff as well that is forbidden by international human right laws and agreements. Further, many of these detained children have been suffering from psychological diseases that will affect their lives in the future. The official statistics shows that nearly 40% of these psychological diseases are caused by torture and barbaric treatment by the Israeli army and its intelligence, bad food, and unhealthy detention camp.