A/HRC/37/42 was the case with Waheed al Bursh, who was released on 12 January 2017, 58 and Khalida Jarrar in 2016 (see para. 55 below). 4. Arbitrary detention of children 33. The detention of Palestinian children is of particular concern. As of 30 June 2017, 318 Palestinian children were in Israeli detention. 59 Between 1 November 2016 and 30 September 2017, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) documented 135 cases of detained children, including three under administrative detention. 60 After falling into disuse for almost four years, the Israeli practice of administrative detention of children resumed in October 2015.61 34. Previous reports on the arrest and detention of Palestinian children reflected concerns relating to the lack of adherence to international standards by Israel. 62 The military justice system appears particularly problematic regarding respect of procedural guarantees. Interrogations of children are conducted in the absence of parents, close relatives or a lawyer, and are not audio-visually recorded.63 Children detained under military orders are usually not promptly informed, in a language that they understand, of the charges against them, and they may be detained for up to four days before being brought before a military judge.64 According to UNICEF, in almost 10 per cent of the cases of detention of children monitored between 1 November 2016 and 31 September 2017, the children reported having been held in solitary confinement for periods ranging from 6 to 20 days. In over 65 per cent of the cases monitored by the NGO Defence for Children International — 66.2 per cent in the West Bank and 88.5 per cent in East Jerusalem — children were shown, or made to sign, documentation written in Hebrew, a language that they usually do not understand. 35. During the reporting period, OHCHR continued to monitor cases where it appears that Palestinian children were arrested and detained in violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 65 According to the Convention, the detention of children should be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time, and the best interest of the child should be a primary consideration. 66 The Secretary-General previously noted that the large number of Palestinian children in Israeli detention seemed incompatible with its use as a measure of last resort. 67 36. On 19 March 2017, Sofyan, an 8-year-old boy from the Old City of Hebron, was arrested by Israeli soldiers as he was walking in the street near the settlement of Kiryat Arba to retrieve a toy he had dropped on his way to visit his grandparents. He was reportedly approached and grabbed from behind by an Israeli soldier, who then forcibly took him from house to house insisting that he identify alleged stone-throwers.68 He was released after an hour. 37. On 7 April 2017, 17-year-old Musa Hammad was arrested at night by the Israeli Security Forces and brought to Ofer Prison, where he was interrogated about a car ramming 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 See A/HRC/34/36, para. 21; and www.ps.undp.org/content/papp/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2017/01/04/undp-statementattributable-to-a-undp-spokesperson-on-waheed-al-bursh-case.html. Data provided to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) by the Israel Prison Service. According to statistics compiled by B’tselem, there were two children in administrative detention at the end of June 2017. Available from www.btselem.org/administrative_detention/statistics. See A/HRC/31/40, para. 41; A/71/364, para. 34. See A/HRC/34/38, paras. 56–57; A/HRC/34/36, para. 19–20 and 25–30; A/HRC/31/40, paras. 38–43; A/71/364, paras. 33–37; and A/70/351, para. 48. See CRC/C/ISR/CO/2-4, paras. 35 and 74. Ibid., paras. 73–74; and www.unicef.org/oPt/UNICEF_oPt_Children_in_Israeli_Military_Detention_Observations_and_Reco mmendations_-_6_March_2013.pdf. Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 37 (b); see A/HRC/34/38, para. 58. Convention of the Rights of the Child, arts. 3 (1) and 37 (b). See A/71/86, para. 24. See Gili Cohen, “Palestinian mother says Israeli soldiers forced 8-year-old son to help nab stone throwers”, Haaretz, 23 March 2017. Available from www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.779173. 9