LONDON: About 350 children are reportedly being held under harsh conditions in Israeli prisons, according to rights groups.
The Commission of Detainees’ Affairs, Palestinian Prisoners’ Society and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association said that the period since October 2023 has been the most difficult for detained children, the Wafa news agency reported.The groups highlighted Israeli detention policies that target entire generations through organized repression, affecting tens of thousands of children.
Israeli forces have carried out extensive arrest campaigns across the occupied Palestinian territories, detaining more than 1,700 children in the West Bank alone since October 2023, many of whom were later released.
Detentions often start with nighttime raids, with Israeli forces storming homes without warning. Children are taken, bound and blindfolded, and forced to endure prolonged periods without food or water before arriving at a detention center, according to the report issued on the Palestinian Children’s Day.
At least 89 Palestinian prisoners, mostly from Gaza, have died in Israeli custody since October 2023.
Last week, Israel passed a law that means Palestinians in the West Bank who are convicted by Israeli military courts of carrying out deadly attacks labeled as terrorism will face the death penalty as the default sentence. The law does not apply to Israeli settlers living in the same area and who commit similar offenses, as they are tried before civilian judges.
