PALESTINIAN CHILDREN POLITICAL PRISONERS

Early Adulthood, Stolen Childhood

Since the beginning of this Intifada in September 2000, over 2500 children have been arrested. Currently there are at least 340 Palestinian children being held in Israeli Prisons.

According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted on 20 November 1989 and entered into force on 2 September1990 (to which Israel is a signatory), and to relevant Israeli law, a child is defined as every human being under the age of 18 years. This is reiterated in the UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, adopted by General Assembly Resolution 45/113 of 14 December 1990. However, Palestinian children from the age of 16 years are considered adults under Israeli military regulations governing the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

As is the case with adult prisoners, child detainees are transferred to prisons located within Israel. The primary prisons in which Palestinian child male detainees are held are Hasharon (Telmond), near Netanya, and Megiddo, near Haifa. Girl child prisoners are transferred to Neve Tertza Prison (Ramleh). Interrogation of child detainees takes place at Beit El and Huwarra Interrogation Centers, and occasionally other interrogation centers, and Palestinian child administrative detainees are held with adult administrative detainees at both Ofer and Negev Military Prison Camps. Palestinian children are primarily arrested at Israeli military checkpoints, from their homes, or from the street.

Arrests from Military Checkpoints
Palestinian children arrested from Israeli military checkpoints are often made to wait for hours at the checkpoint, with their hands cuffed, before they are transferred to detention and interrogation centers. More often than not, Palestinian child detainees are subject to beatings, curses and threats during the transfer. In most cases, their families are not informed of their arrest, with child prisoners additionally being transferred from one prison to another without informing the family. As a result, it often takes some time before a child detainee is located and the family informed of his/her location.

Arrests from Home
Arrests of Palestinian children often happen in the middle of the night from the child’s home, with tens of soldiers surrounding the house and then raiding it. Soldiers usually do not have a warrant for arrest or searches. The entire house is searched, often ransacked and personal property destroyed, occupants humiliated and harassed.

Detention Centers and Prisons

Megiddo Military Prison
Megiddo is a military prison camp located north of the West Bank and administered by the Israeli Ministry of Defence. Palestinian male child prisoners between the ages of 16-18 are held at the military prison camp together with Palestinian adult prisoners.

Over 1,000 Palestinian detainees are held at Megiddo, including approximately 80 child prisoners aged between 16-18. Prisoners are held in military tents and divided amongst 5 different sections of the prison, with each section accommodating 8 tents. Palestinian child prisoners at Megiddo do not receive any special education as they are considered adults under Israeli military regulations and are therefore unable to continue their studies whilst in detention. Child prisoners are subject to medical negligence from the prison administration.

Hasharon (Telmond) Prison
Hasharon (Telmond) Prison is a central prison located between Tel Aviv and Netanya, administered by the Israeli Prisons Authority. The prison dates to the British Mandate period and is in disrepair. From the beginning of the 1990’s, Palestinian male child prisoners below the age of 16 have been held in various sections of the prison.

Sections 7 and 8 of Hasharon Prison are the primary areas in which Palestinian child prisoners are held. Section 7 holds 38 child prisoners and Section 8 holds 50 child prisoners. The cells in each of the sections consist of a total of 21 beds and 1 toilet. Palestinian child prisoners who hold Israeli blue identity cards (Jerusalemites or citizens of Israel) are held in the Ofek section of the prison, which is a rehabilitation section intended for Israeli juvenile criminal prisoners. The prison includes an outside yard that is enclosed by high walls and is approximately15m by 15m. All prisoners use the yard during their outdoor breaks.

Prior to the beginning of the current Intifada, Palestinian child prisoners were held in section 9 of the prison, separated from criminal prisoners and receiving special education. However, at the beginning of the current Intifada, as a result of the dramatic increase of child arrests, Palestinian child prisoners from the West Bank and Gaza Strip began to be placed in criminal sections of Ofek prison and subject to increased harassment.

Neve Tertza (Ramleh) Prison
This prison is administered by the Israeli Prisons Authority and holds female prisoners.? In 2002, 11 girl child prisoners were being held in Israeli prisons, the youngest being Zeinab Al Shouli and ‘Aisha ‘Obeyat, who both turned 15 whilst in prison.

Ofer and Negev (Ketziot) Military Prison Camps
Palestinian male child prisoners serving administrative detention orders are held together with adult Palestinian male prisoners at both Ofer and Negev Military Prison Camps. The Israel Ministry of Defence administers both military prison camps.

Conditions of detention in which Palestinian child prisoners are held

Palestinian child prisoners are held in inhumane conditions of detention, made to live in overcrowded and filthy cells. Often, children are placed in small solitary confinement cells, measuring 1.5 square meters, that are extremely humid and have no windows for natural light, or with bright artificial light that is continuously kept on. This forces prisoners to remain awake at all times, depriving the prisoner of sleep for days in some cases. Prisoners do not receive sufficient food to meet the daily nutrition requirements for children, are prevented from going to the toilet at their will, and are not allowed a change of clothing.

The UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty offers clear standards for the conditions of detention that children may be held in within Section D of the rules:

D. Physical environment and accommodation

31. Juveniles deprived of their liberty have the right to facilities and services that meet all the requirements of health and human dignity.

32. The design of detention facilities for juveniles and the physical environment should be in keeping with the rehabilitative aim of residential treatment, with due regard to the need of the juvenile for privacy, sensory stimuli, opportunities for association with peers and participation in sports, physical exercise and leisure-time activities. The design and structure of juvenile detention facilities should be such as to minimize the risk of fire and to ensure safe evacuation from the premises. There should be an effective alarm system in case of fire, as well as formal and drilled procedures to ensure the safety of the juveniles. Detention facilities should not be located in areas where there are known health or other hazards or risks.

33. Sleeping accommodation should normally consist of small group dormitories or individual bedrooms, while bearing in mind local standards. During sleeping hours there should be regular, unobtrusive supervision of all sleeping areas, including individual rooms and group dormitories, in order to ensure the protection of each juvenile. Every juvenile should, in accordance with local or national standards, be provided with separate and sufficient bedding, which should be clean when issued, kept in good order and changed often enough to ensure cleanliness.

34. Sanitary installations should be so located and of a sufficient standard to enable every juvenile to comply, as required, with their physical needs in privacy and in a clean and decent manner.

35. The possession of personal effects is a basic element of the right to privacy and essential to the psychological well being of the juvenile. The right of every juvenile to possess personal effects and to have adequate storage facilities for them should be fully recognized and respected. Personal effects that the juvenile does not choose to retain or that are confiscated should be placed in safe custody. An inventory thereof should be signed by the juvenile. Steps should be taken to keep them in good condition. All such articles and money should be returned to the juvenile on release, except in so far as he or she has been authorized to spend money or send such property out of the facility. If a juvenile receives or is found in possession of any medicine, the medical officer should decide what use should be made of it.

36. To the extent possible juveniles should have the right to use their own clothing. Detention facilities should ensure that each juvenile has personal clothing suitable for the climate and adequate to ensure good health, and which should in no manner be degrading or humiliating. Juveniles removed from or leaving a facility for any purpose should be allowed to wear their own clothing.

37. Every detention facility shall ensure that every juvenile receives food that is suitably prepared and presented at normal meal times and of a quality and quantity to satisfy the standards of dietetics, hygiene and health and, as far as possible, religious and cultural requirements. Clean drinking water should be available to every juvenile at any time.

The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, applicable to all imprisoned individuals, also specifies the standards required for conditions of detention:

9. (1) Where sleeping accommodation is in individual cells or rooms, each prisoner shall occupy by night a cell or room by himself. If for special reasons, such as temporary overcrowding, it becomes necessary for the central prison administration to make an exception to this rule, it is not desirable to have two prisoners in a cell or room.

(2) Where dormitories are used, they shall be occupied by prisoners carefully selected as being suitable to associate with one another in those conditions. There shall be regular supervision by night, in keeping with the nature of the institution.

10. All accommodation provided for the use of prisoners and in particular all sleeping accommodation shall meet all requirements of health, due regard being paid to climatic conditions and particularly to cubic content of air, minimum floor space, lighting, heating and ventilation

Interrogation

Palestinian child detainees are subject to physical and psychological torture during their interrogation in order to force them to confess to activities they may or may not have done. The majority of confessions and sentences are related to throwing stones. Under extreme physical and psychological pressure, children often confess to such activities to end the circumstances they find themselves, often confessing to things they didn't do.

During interrogation, children are isolated from their families and lawyers are often not informed of the place of their detention. The child is usually not allowed to meet with a lawyer during the first period of interrogation, confining the child's world to the interrogation room and the interrogator, adding to the psychological stress the child already finds himself/herself in.

Child detainees are interrogated by either the Israeli police of by officers of the Israeli General Security Services (GSS). The initial interrogation period lasts for 4 days, with the possibility of renewal for another 4 days by the interrogation team. After this 8-day period, the child detainee must be brought before a military judge.

Health Conditions

Like all Palestinian prisoners, Palestinian child prisoners are subject to medical negligence from the prison administration. Simple medical treatment, such as painkillers, is often refused the prisoners if the doctor is not available in the prison at the time. Prisoners must wait until the next morning, when the doctor or nurse is in the prison, before they are administered painkillers or examined. Prisoners are not given regular medical checkups, and it can take up to 6 months before a prisoner is seen by a specialist, if the medical conditions warrant it. For example, child prisoners Nasser Zeid, Wadee’ Hassanain, and Abdullah Atta have needed urgent eye examinations and glasses for at least 4 months.

Israeli authorities are in clear violation of international law in the medical negligence practiced against Palestinian child prisoners. The UN Minimum Standard Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, under the section relating medical services, provides that:

22. (1) At every institution there shall be available the services of at least one qualified medical officer who should have some knowledge of psychiatry. The medical services should be organized in close relationship to the general health administration of the community or nation. They shall include a psychiatric service for the diagnosis and, in proper cases, the treatment of states of mental abnormality.

(2) Sick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civil hospitals. Where hospital facilities are provided in an institution, their equipment, furnishings and pharmaceutical supplies shall be proper for the medical care and treatment of sick prisoners, and there shall be a staff of suitable trained officers.

(3) The services of a qualified dental officer shall be available to every prisoner.

Food
Food provided to Palestinian child prisoners is prepared by Israeli criminal prisoners and is poor in both quality and quantity. The food is often undercooked, lacking in flavor, and does not meet the daily nutritional requirements for children. Article 20 (1) of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners states that "every prisoner shall be provided by the administration at the usual hours with food of nutritional value adequate for health and strength, of wholesome quality and well prepared and served." This is clearly not the case for Palestinian child prisoners held within Israeli prisons.

Right to Education

Despite the fact that the majority of Palestinian child prisoners are arrested whilst they are still school students, the Israeli authorities clearly neglect the child's right to education whilst in detention. The prison administration does not provide the conditions or materials required to continue their education, despite the fact that international law clearly states that children must be afforded the right to education in all circumstances. In particular, the Israeli authorities neglect of child prisoners right to education is a clear violation of the educational requirements of prisoners stipulated in the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners:

77. (1) "Provision shall be made for the further education of all prisoners capable of profiting thereby, including religious instruction in the countries where this is possible. The education of illiterates and young prisoners shall be compulsory and special attention shall be paid to it by the administration."

(2) “ So far as practicable, the education of prisoners shall be integrated with the educational system of the country so that after their release they may continue their education without difficulty.”

Summary of violations

Attacks by Israeli criminal prisoners, including threats and stabbings.
Subject to sexual, physical and verbal harassment. Sexual harassment has been practiced against a number of child prisoners and threats of beatings if the child reports the incident to the administration. One child prisoner who complained to the administration about sexual harassment was attacked by Israeli criminal prisoners with knives and injured in his leg.
Theft of personal belongings, including phone cards, shoes and foodstuff that is purchased from the prison canteen.
Absence of newspapers and recreational facilities.
Prevention of family visits, and the subsequent psychological impact on child prisoners.
Held in sections with criminal prisoners.
Deprived of continuation of education whilst in detention.
The absence of the psychological care and counselors within the prison.
Tortured during the interrogation period.
Feeling alone and isolated from the outside world.
Attempts to coerce children to work as collaborators with Israeli security agencies.
Absence of entertainment and cultural items.
Medical negligence.

Additional issues regarding child prisoners
It is prohibited to use forms of torture such as shackling as a means of punishment against child prisoners. However, this is common practice in Israeli prisons with child prisoners. Child prisoners held for security reasons should be detained in separate sections and apart from criminal prisoners. In violation of this principle, Palestinian child prisoners detained for security reasons are held with Israeli criminal prisoners.