A/HRC/28/78
reportedly unspecified “security” reasons. Palestinian children are reportedly not allowed to
use a telephone while in detention.
60.
A representative of a non-governmental organization described the approach taken
by Israel to the issue as having “moved on from its position of denial of the problem to
dealing with it as a press relations issue”. Evidence suggests that Israel has not taken
sufficient remedial action to make a real difference on the ground to improve the situation
of Palestinian children in detention. Many children come out of Israeli detention suffering
from post-traumatic stress disorder or other illnesses associated with experiencing deeply
traumatic events.
61.
According to one testimony received from a Palestinian non-governmental
organization by the Special Rapporteur, on 6 January 2014, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy
from the village of Hizma in the Jerusalem Governorate was playing football with friends
in a field when clashes reportedly erupted between stone-throwing youths and Israeli
soldiers stationed in a hilly area opposite the playing field. As he and his friends attempted
to run away, they were reportedly stopped, beaten severely and subjected to an electric stun
gun by plain-clothed Israeli police officers before being taken away in a police vehicle to
Ofer prison near Ramallah. For one week, the boy was subjected to daily interrogation
sessions, which allegedly included further beatings, verbal abuse and the denial of the use
of the bathroom. He was issued with a two-year suspended sentence and a fine of 7,500
shekels. Since his arrest, his academic performance has deteriorated, and he no longer
leaves the house alone.
62.
In another account received from a Palestinian non-governmental organization, a 14
year-old Palestinian youth was arrested on 11 March 2014 for the fourth time in two years
when clashes erupted between Palestinian youths and Israeli settlers. The youth was
transported to Maskoubieh detention facility, where he was repeatedly beaten and subjected
to verbal abuse. The court reportedly sentenced the youth to house arrest for five days and
ordered him to stay away from the Al Aqsa Mosque area for 30 days, in addition giving
him a fine of 3,000 shekels. The youth today suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder,
and his academic achievements are reportedly deteriorating.
63.
The staggering number of Palestinian children subjected to similar experiences of
terrifying arrest and detention in Israeli custody and the trauma of the ill-treatment is of
serious concern. Impunity for these violations is likely to perpetuate the ill-treatment of
children in the future. It was noted that most Palestinian families reportedly do not file
complaints of mistreatment with the Israeli authorities for fear of retaliation or because they
have lost faith in the judicial system. Of the 23 complaints filed by Palestinian families in
2012 and 2013 with the assistance of Defence for Children – Palestine, the status of most of
the complaints were unknown as at September 2014.
V. Forcible transfer of Palestinian Bedouins
64.
The situation of thousands of Palestinian Bedouin and herder communities resident
in the central West Bank, including the East Jerusalem periphery, and the risk of their
forcible transfer to three government-designated township sites at Al-Jabal, Nuweima and
Fasayil in the Jerusalem and Jericho Governorates of the West Bank, is cause for deep
concern. If the plans of the Israeli Civil Administration, referred to as the “Bedouin
Regulation”, are approved, between 5,000 and 11,000 individuals from up to 46 rural
communities could be evicted from their current place of residence and relocated to these
sites. The implementation of the plans would entail the demolition of Bedouin homes and
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