A/HRC/28/78 however, come across any supporting evidence for this to date. Indeed, in 2005, a military committee appointed by then chief of the Israel Defense Forces (and current Minister for Defence) Moshe Ya’alon recommended a moratorium on home demolitions after it had found little proof that they served as an effective deterrent to future terrorists.35 52. Aside from the questions of “effectiveness”, from an ethical and legal standpoint, family members who have committed no crime should not be punished for the actions of a relative. In short, punitive home demolitions are an act of collective punishment that contravenes international law. It is therefore all the more disconcerting that the Supreme Court of Israel continues to sanction the practice, which deprives innocent Palestinians of the right to adequate housing. 36 All those accused of being responsible for acts of violence should be tried before a court of law and, if found guilty, sentenced for their crimes; the State cannot, however, go beyond what is sanctioned by international law. 53. On 27 November 2014, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel responded to a joint press release issued by this Special Rapporteur and the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, in which they called upon Israel to cease targeting Palestinian homes. In its response, Israel sought to deflect attention from its resort to the illegal practice of home demolitions by making unfounded accusations that “the mandate holders have turned a blind eye to terrorism, incitement, celebrations of violence and encouragement of extremism carried out by Palestinians and their leaders”. Any incitement to hatred and violence must of course be condemned in all its forms, but genuine deterrence needs to look at the root causes of violence. Punitive home demolitions only add to the frustration and despair felt by people living under the prolonged Israeli military occupation. It sows the seed of more hatred, particularly in children, that may fuel the cycle of more violence in the future. IV. Arrest and detention of Palestinian children 54. Around 8,000 Palestinian children under the age of 18 have reportedly been detained and prosecuted by the Israeli military courts since 2000. According to information provided by a Palestinian non-governmental organization, as at October 2014, there were 201 Palestinian children held in Israeli prisons, 23 of whom were between the ages of 14 and 16. The ill-treatment of Palestinian children by Israeli security forces from the time of arrest to the end of detention in Israeli military facilities has been well documented across the United Nations, from the reports of the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner, to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which in February 2013 reported that “the ill-treatment of children who come in contact with the military detention system appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalised throughout the process, from the moment of arrest until the child’s prosecution and eventual conviction and sentencing.”37 55. The situation of Palestinian children has also received significant attention across the United Nations human rights mechanisms, including during the consideration of the reports submitted by Israel to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in June 2013,38 in the context of the universal periodic review in October 2013,39 and most recently by the Human 35 36 37 38 39 16 Asher Schechter, “Immoral, ineffective: Destroying terrorists’ homes is nothing but empty revenge”, Haaretz, 20 November 2014. See www.hamoked.org/files/2014/1158616_eng.pdf. UNICEF, Children in Israeli Military Detention: Observations and Recommendations, February 2013. CRC/C/ISR/CO/2-4,. A/HRC/WG.6/17/ISR/1.