Image Source: Al Jazeera
Palestine – The constant lack of regard and inhumane treatment of Palestinian children – and adults- by Israel has raised significant alarms among human rights organisations. Therefore, any expressions of warmth or concern for Palestinians by Israeli officials should be viewed as deceptive.
Recently, UN experts from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights sounded the alarm regarding credible allegations of human rights abuses against Palestinian women and girls in Gaza and the West Bank.
Amongst the credible claims, their information suggests Palestinian women and girls in Gaza have strangely disappeared following any interaction with Israeli forces. Additionally, Palestinian women and girls, along with their families, including children have been targeted and executed by Israeli forces.
“We are shocked by reports of the deliberate targeting and extrajudicial killing of Palestinian women and children in places where they sought refuge or while fleeing.”
The UN experts also expressed concerns regarding the indiscriminate imprisonment of numerous Palestinian women and girls, along with journalists, activists, and humanitarian workers in Gaza and the West Bank. Allegedly, these Palestinian detainees have faced inhumane and degrading treatment during their time in custody.
“We are particularly distressed by reports that Palestinian women and girls in detention have also been subjected to multiple forms of sexual assault, such as being stripped naked and searched by male Israeli army officers.”
Nevertheless, the most alarming claim pertains to the assertion that a minimum of two Palestinian women were raped while in detention. In contrast, others were threatened with rape and sexual violence.
Reem Alsalem, the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls and one of the UN experts, conveyed in a news report her worry that additional allegations of sexual violence and assault against Palestinian detainees in Gaza and the West Bank may surface. She explained that a significant portion of these incidents go unreported by the victims, and various factors influence the decisions to do so.
“We have reasons to believe that the actual numbers of those that may have experienced gender-based violence, including sexual assault and rape, may be higher.”
Consequently, they have urged for an unbiased, impartial, and swift inquiry into these accusations, emphasising the importance of Israel’s cooperation.
In response, Israel has dismissed the report’s statements and allegations, deeming them despicable and baseless. Nevertheless, they have expressed a readiness to investigate the claims on the condition that credible allegations and supporting evidence are presented.
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The Illegal Detention of Palestinian Children by Israel
When discussing Israel’s collective punishment and military aggression, it is the Palestinian civilians and innocent children who bear the brunt of their force.
In Gaza, children are daily, either losing one parent, or becoming orphaned. They endure severe physical injuries from bombings, and face mutilation, where their limbs are marked for identification. Additionally, they are literally starving to death due to the scarcity of food and water.
While the brutality in Gaza is deeply distressing, it represents just a fraction of the more significant issue, which is the persistent systematic detention of children in Palestinian territories by Israeli forces.
When not facing gunfire in the streets by the IDF, these children and young adults undergo home raids in the dead of night, forcefully taken and detained under military law, then prosecuted in military courts.
Save The Children reports that the primary alleged crime justifying these unjust arrests is stone-throwing, carrying a 20-year prison sentence. An estimated 500 to 1000 children are detained annually without charge, trial, or due process.
Last year, the children’s rights organisation documented that Palestinian children in detention suffered beatings and other abuses during arrest and are being transferred between detention centres in cages like “human animals”, as called by the Israeli Defense Minister.
Moreover, in detention, Israeli personnel deny and refuse them necessities such as food, water, and sleep. They are subjected to psychological, emotional, physical, and sexual violence, torture, and abuse, all of which will likely have a profound impact on their ability to recover.
“Children are increasingly unable to fully return to their normal life following release from detention.”
