Palestinian girl imprisoned for two months,
four other children threatened by Israeli Authorities
A 14-year-old Palestinian girl has been imprisoned by Israeli authorities for 22 consecutive days without contact with
her parents, and has just been sentenced to serve another month along with a stiff fine on her parents, reports Euro-Mid
Observer for Human Rights. Another four children as young as 11 were recently held for four hours under threat of
detention and death,
Malak Al-Khatib, 14, from the village of Betin in the district of Ramallah, was detained by Israeli forces on December
31 while walking home from school, then accused of throwing stones, entering an Israeli-only road and possessing a
knife. The eight-grader is being held in Hasharon Prison. On January 21, she was sentenced to two months detention,
including time served, and her parents were fined 6,000 NLS (US$1,500).
“There is no justification to detain Malak, and we believe they have coerced false confessions out of her,” Malak’s
father, Ali Al-Khatib, told Euro-Mid. “Malak attended four court hearings during which her detention was extended for
several days. We could only see her in the court; we were not allowed to talk to her. She seemed to be very sick and
scared.”
The four other children who were detained and threatened on January 18 then released, are Zuhair Issa (13), Bashar Issa
(11), Ahmed Mo’ammar (14) and Huthaifa Hassan (14), from Qariout village near Nablus.
“The children were summoned under the pretext that they entered the Jewish settlement of Illit and ignited a fire.
However, the Israeli authorities couldn’t prove it, so the children were released four hours later,” Zuhair’s and
Bashar’s uncle, Mujalli Issa, told Euro-Mid. “The children went through a bad experience and are now scared and
shocked.”
Euro-Mid Observer for Human Rights, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization based in Geneva and representatives in
Ramallah and Nablus in the occupied West Bank, condemns Israel’s policy of detaining children and subjecting them to
abusive and inhumane treatment.
“Children are usually detained under the pretext of throwing stones, or participating in demonstrations against
occupation. According to international law, such acts are not considered as crimes,” says Ihsan Adel, Euro-Mid legal
adviser.
Israeli authorities continue to violate the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including article 37 that states, “No
child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a
child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest
appropriate period of time.”
Euro-Mid calls for the immediate release of Malak Al-Khatib and urges the international community to pressure Israel to
halt its violations against Palestinian children and to comply with international law, including the Fourth Geneva
Convention and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Read the press release on Euro-Mid Website