[PDF version available here]

Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights (LPHR) and Save the Children are today jointly issuing a landmark new call to the Government of Israel as an imperative response to an urgent and enduring child protection crisis:

An immediate moratorium must be placed on Israeli military authorities arresting, detaining and prosecuting Palestinian children until comprehensive reforms have been made to address alarming findings of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. For example, Israel should swiftly implement all 38 recommendations made by UNICEF in its 2013 report, and permit regular monitoring of its implementation by appropriate independent experts. This is a child protection crisis that can no longer be ignored.

2023 is the ten-year anniversary of the publication of the landmark UNICEF report that found:

“the ill-treatment of children who come in contact with the military detention system appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalised throughout the process, from the moment of arrest until the child’s prosecution and eventual conviction and sentencing.“

Ten years on, the evidence is overwhelming that Israel’s authorities are unwilling to fundamentally reform its military detention system in line with the 38 recommendations of the 2013 UNICEF report. Many of the key unimplemented recommendations serve a dual purpose of providing human rights and child protection safeguards. Based on testimonies collected by Military Court Watch since the publication of the report, 97 percent of UNICEF’s recommendations remain substantially unimplemented. This critical failure, with the full awareness of the international community, has had the principal effect of ensuring the endemic perpetuation of real harm to the hundreds of Palestinian children whom each year are held under Israeli military custody.

Save the Children’s report entitled, Defenceless, published in November 2020, provides clear and compelling evidence of this severe consequence nearly a decade on following the publication of the UNICEF report. Children showed high rates of anxiety, depression, behavioural changes, eating and sleeping disorders, and experienced physical symptoms such as chest pains, exhaustion and numbness. Detention also diminished children’s ability to return to their normal lives, maintain relationships with their families and friends, complete their education, and feel secure in their communities.

Save the Children’s updated report entitled, Injustice, which LPHR has closely collaborated on and is being published today, highlights testimonies and data obtained this year by Save the Children confirming the persisting widespread and institutionalised harm against Palestinian children held within Israel’s military custodial system. The key findings from the children consulted are extremely alarming:

• During arrest, 42% of children suffered injuries, including gunshot wounds and broken bones. A range of other injuries were reported, from shoulder dislocation, to bruising, to suffocation.
• 65% of children were arrested during the night, mostly between midnight and dawn.
• The majority of children experienced appalling levels of physical and emotional abuse, including being beaten (86%), being threatened with harm (70%), and hit with sticks or guns (60%).
• Some children reported sexual violence and abuse, including being hit or touched on the genitals and 69% reported being strip searched during interrogation.
• 60% of children experienced solitary confinement with the length of time varying from one day to as long as 48 days.
• Throughout the different stages of arrest and detention, 92% of children reported being blindfolded and 93% reported being handcuffed (80% of them were cuffed using a single plastic tie).
• Children were denied adequate food or healthcare: 70% said they suffered from hunger and 68% said they didn’t receive any healthcare.
• 58% of children were denied visits or communication with their family while detained.
• Children reported high levels of emotional distress during the transfer to court or between detention centres, on a packed transfer bus, with their hands and feet cuffed, and no access to food, water or a toilet for 12 hours or more. Some described being put in small boxes or cages.
• The enormous toll on children, including on their mental health and emotional wellbeing, continued to present after children were released. 73% of children reported suffering from insomnia or having difficulty sleeping, 53% had nightmares, 62% frequently felt angry and 48% felt like they always needed to be alone.

This constitutes an enduring child protection crisis and a major human rights problem; with severe real-life repercussions for detained Palestinian children. The reporting of sexual violence against children is distinctly alarming. It is imperative that this ongoing harm and abuse towards children is stopped.

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UK Government’s approach to this critical child protection issue over the last decade

LPHR is grateful that the UK Government has expressly prioritised the critical issue of the military detention of Palestinian children by Israeli authorities. We recognise it has undertaken several initiatives to attempt to address it.

This includes funding an expert delegation of senior UK lawyers to independently report on this issue in 2011/12; an offer made to Israeli authorities in 2017 for the Metropolitan Police to share expertise with Israeli counterparts on implementing regulations designed to protect the rights of minors in detention; and specific child rights recommendations made to Israel in January 2018 during its Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council. Alongside these initiatives, the UK Government has repeatedly stated its concern about continued reports of ill-treatment if Palestinian children in Israeli military detention.

We are deeply concerned, however, that these good faith initiatives and expressions of concern have not been met with effective reforms instituted by Israeli authorities to properly safeguard Palestinian children from severe physical and psychological harm during the military arrest and detention process. A fundamental step-change in approach is imperative to end the harm and abuse of detained Palestinian children.

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Six-point recommendation for urgent adoption and implementation by the UK Government on the critical issue of Israel’s military detention of Palestinian children:

• The UK Government must expressly recognise that the endemic harm caused to Palestinian children by Israel’s military detention system constitutes both a major human rights problem and an enduring child protection crisis. The UK Government must also expressly recognise the abundant evidence that Israel’s authorities are unwilling to fundamentally reform its military detention system ten years on from UNICEF’s landmark report.
• In accordance with such recognition and the imperative that this ongoing harm and abuse to children is stopped, the UK Government should urgently consider adopting LPHR and Save the Children’s call for an immediate moratorium on Israeli military authorities arresting, detaining and prosecuting Palestinian children until comprehensive reforms have been made to address alarming findings of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. For example, Israel should swiftly implement all 38 recommendations made by UNICEF in its 2013 report, and permit regular monitoring of its implementation by appropriate independent experts.
• The UK Government should embed UNICEF’s conclusion in its 2013 report as its official starting policy position on the issue of Israel’s military detention of Palestinian children: “the ill-treatment of children who come in contact with the military detention system appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalised throughout the process.” This should be reflected in public UK Government statements and language on this issue, and also in bilateral engagement with the Government of Israel.
• The UK Government should expressly adopt the principled position, in full conformity with international law, that the use of a military court system for the trial of children should end, as repeatedly affirmed by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
• Due to the ongoing military occupation which constitutes a form of armed conflict, the reporting of sexual abuse in Save the Children’s report published today could also constitute a form of conflict-related sexual violence. LPHR and Save the Children calls for further immediate investigations into any abuse of children within the military detention system, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse, and whether this constitutes conflict-related sexual violence. LPHR urges the UK Government to take proactive and urgent steps to facilitate or encourage such an investigation.
• The findings of Save the Children’s research published today are extremely concerning and warrant investigation to determine whether the ill-treatment reported by children meets the threshold for torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. LPHR and Save the Children urges those with the requisite skills and mandate to launch an investigation in accordance with international standards as a matter of urgency. LPHR urges the UK Government to support and assist this call.

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Conclusion

There is an inextricable link between the systemic human rights violations of Palestinian children held in military detention and the overarching context of prolonged military occupation. The realisation of the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people is the optimal solution for the full removal of “widespread, systematic and institutionalised” violations against Palestinian children held in Israeli military detention.

However, with no end in sight to Israel’s military occupation, there is a vitally important and urgent need in the interim to fundamentally reform Israeli authorities systemic maltreatment of Palestinian child detainees so that it effectively protects children’s basic human rights, meets international legal requirements, and ends an enduring child protection crisis. It is our considered assessment that nothing less than accepting the six-point recommendation above, including at its heart an immediate moratorium on the arrest, detention and prosecution of Palestinian children by Israel’s military authorities, can suffice to urgently protect detained Palestinian children from severe ongoing harm.

Tareq Shrourou

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Further LPHR reading:

For a legal and human rights analysis, please read LPHR’s briefing on Israel’s military detention of Palestinian children living in the occupied Palestinian territory

[PDF version available here]

[PDF version available here]

Key incidents outlined in this LPHR Child Rights Bulletin covering 1 October- 31 December 2022:

• 14 Palestinian children were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank between 1 October- 31 December 2022. In total during 2022, 44 Palestinian children were killed, at least 43 of them by Israeli forces or settlers.

• In November, Israeli forces killed a 14-year-old girl during a search-and-arrest operation in Beituniya. Israeli forces shot at a car, killing Fullah Maluh and injuring the driver. Eyewitnesses reported that the car was moving at a normal speed. In December, Israeli forces killed a 15-year-old girl during an Israeli search-and-arrest operation in Jenin Refugee Camp. Jana Majdi Issam Assaf sustained two gunshot wounds to her upper chest and one to the right side of her head while on the roof of her home. In total during 2022, 16 children were killed during search and arrest operations in the West Bank.

• Four Palestinian children – three in Gaza and one in the West Bank – were injured after tampering with unexploded ordnance. In total during 2022, eight children are reported to have been injured by unexploded ordnance.

• At least 18 children were injured by Israeli settlers. In total during 2022, 35 children are reported to have been injured due to settler violence.

• The ill-treatment of Palestinian children during their arbitrary arrest and detention by Israeli forces continued, with children being arrested during night-time raids on their family homes, and testimonies of physical abuse, strip searches and coerced confessions.

• 140 children (67 girls and 73 boys) were displaced by the demolition of 274 homes and other structures in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

• On 23 November, Israeli authorities demolished the Isfey Al Faqua donor-funded school in Masafer Yatta, after the Israeli Supreme Court cancelled a temporary injunction prohibiting demolition. The school served 21 students from three different communities. Two weeks later, Israeli forces dismantled and confiscated two tents used as temporary classrooms for the community’s schoolchildren since the demolition of their school.

The key incidents and statistics outlined in this bulletin span a range of violation categories: ‘Fatalities’, ‘Injuries’, ‘Settler Violence’, ‘Arrests and Detention’, ‘Interference against Education’, ‘Displacement and Demolitions’. They are collated from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) and local human rights organisations: Defence for Children International-Palestine (DCIP), Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, Yesh Din, Military Court Watch (MCW) and B’Tselem.

This bulletin outlines the specific rights of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) that apply to the key incidents affecting Palestinian children in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). As the occupying power, Israel has legal responsibilities under international conventions, including the UNCRC, for the safety, welfare, and human rights protection of civilians living in the oPt.

For all our previous bulletins, please visit the Children’s Rights Project page of LPHR’s website. For LPHR Briefings and Legal Q&As providing a legal and human rights analysis on recurring issues covered within our bulletins, please see the following: ‘Israel’s military detention of Palestinian children‘; ‘Unexploded Ordnance in Gaza and its serious impact on civilians‘; ‘Settler Violence‘; ‘Displacement and Demolitions in the Area C of the West Bank‘; ‘Coerced self-demolitions‘.

FATALITIES

Data collected by UN OCHA records that 14 Palestinian children were killed by Israeli forces during the reporting period 1 October- 31 December 2022. All of these children were shot and killed with live ammunition in the occupied West Bank. One Israeli child died during an explosion in Jerusalem.

In total, 44 Palestinian children were killed in 2022, at least 43 of them by Israeli forces or settlers. 16 children were killed during search-and-arrest operations in the occupied West Bank.

• UN OCHA reports that on 1 October, Israeli forces shot and killed a child in Al ‘Eizariya town (East Jerusalem). B’Tselem reports that Israeli forces inside Border Police Force vehicles fired several shots at 17-year-old Fayez Damdum, hitting him in the back of the neck at close range. B’Tselem’s assessment of video footage and eyewitness testimony found that Fayez was shot while running away from soldiers after falling off his motorcycle. B’Tselem disputes the claim made by the Israeli authorities that Fayez was attempting to throw a Molotov Cocktail when shot; UN OCHA reports that no traces of incendiary material were found on Fayez’s body, according to medical sources.

• UN OCHA reports that on 7 October, Israeli forces killed a 14-year-old with live ammunition when they opened fire at a group of children near the Barrier in Qalqilya. DCIP reports that Adel Ibrahim Adel Daud was shot in the head at around 15:00 and died a few hours later. Palestinian eyewitnesses dispute the Israeli authorities’ claim that the boy threw a Molotov cocktail at soldiers.

• UN OCHA reports that a second child was killed on 7 October. A 17-year-old Palestinian boy was shot by Israeli forces near a water spring and public park in Al Mazra’a Al Qibliya village (Ramallah). B’Tselem identifies the boy as Mahdi Ladadwah, reporting he was shot in the chest as he was about to throw stones with a slingshot at Israeli forces. Soldiers and Border Police officers initially refused to allow Mahdi to be put in a Palestinian ambulance. The shooting occurred during clashes where Israeli forces fired rubber bullets and live ammunition at Palestinians who threw stones. 51 Palestinians were injured; no Israeli injuries were reported.

• UN OCHA reports that on 8 October, as Israeli forces raided Jenin Refugee Camp for the second time that week, a child was shot and killed during an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinians. The raid saw another Palestinian killed and 12 others injured; no Israeli injuries were reported. DCIP identifies the child as 17-year-old Mahmoud Moayad Mahmoud Sous. Reportedly, Mahmoud threw a homemade explosive device toward an Israeli military vehicle about 20 metres away, and was then shot from behind in the neck and thigh.

• DCIP reports that a 12-year-old boy died on 10 October after Israeli forces shot him on 28 September following a military incursion into Jenin Refugee Camp. Mahmoud Mohammad Khalil Samoudi was shot by Israeli forces with live ammunition in the abdomen around 10:00 when Israeli forces shot at youths throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli military vehicles in Al-Zahra neighbourhood, adjacent to Jenin Refugee Camp.

• UN OCHA reports that on 12 October, a 17-year-old Palestinian boy was shot and killed with live ammunition in Al ‘Arrub Refugee Camp (Hebron) during a demonstration against the closure of Shu’fat Refugee Camp following the killing of an Israeli soldier nearby. Israeli forces shot live ammunition and Palestinians threw stones at Israeli forces. DCIP identifies the boy as Osama Mahmoud Hasan Adawi, reporting that he was shot in the abdomen from a distance of about 70 metres, dying an hour later.

• UN OCHA reports that on 20 October, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy succumbed to wounds sustained on 28 September, when Israeli forces shot him with live ammunition near Beit El/DCO checkpoint in Ramallah during a demonstration against repeated Israeli military operations in Jenin Refugee Camp. DCIP reports that Mohammad Fadi Hani Nouri was shot in the abdomen at around 14:30 while watching confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinians from about 50 metres away.

• UN OCHA and DCIP report that on 3 November, a 14-year-old boy was killed by Israeli forces at the entrance to Jenin Refugee Camp, after Israeli forces carried out an incursion into Jenin Refugee Camp and killed a Palestinian man. Israeli forces surrounded the camp with Israeli military vehicles. Stone throwing and an exchange of fire between Palestinians and Israeli forces ensued. Mohammad Samer Mohammad Khalouf allegedly fired a homemade gun at Israeli military vehicles before being shot in the chest.

• UN OCHA reports that on 9 November, a 15-year-old Palestinian boy was shot with live ammunition fired by the Israeli forces while the explosive device he was allegedly planting detonated during armed clashes in Nablus City. Clashes took place when Israeli settlers and members of the Israeli parliament visited Joseph’s Tomb which triggered confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli forces and resulted in the injury of 60 Palestinians. DCIP identifies the child as Mahdi Mohammad Hamdallah Hashash.

• B’Tselem reports that on 14 November, Israeli forces killed a 14-year-old girl during a search-and-arrest operation in Beituniya (Ramallah). Israeli forces shot at a car, killing Fullah Maluh and injuring the driver. Eyewitnesses reported that the car was moving at a normal speed. Israeli forces reported that the car was a suspicious vehicle and that it was told to stop but accelerated.

• UN OCHA reports that on 21 November, a 17-year-old Palestinian child was killed while he was on his way to school, and three others were injured during an Israeli forces operation in the vicinity of Jenin Refugee Camp. DCIP identifies the child as Mahmoud Abdujaleel Huda al-Sadi, reporting that he was shot in the abdomen with live ammunition at 08:30.

• UN OCHA reports that on 22 November, Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy, and injured 110 Palestinians, during confrontations involving stone throwing and an exchange of fire between Palestinians and Israeli forces that erupted when dozens of Israeli settlers entered Joseph’s Tomb site in Nablus City. DCIP identifies the child as 16-year-old Ahmad Amjad Mohammad Shehadeh, reporting that he was shot in the heart by an Israeli sniper.

• UN OCHA reports that on 23 November, two explosions went off near bus stops in Jerusalem, killing an Israeli child and injuring 14 others. Media reports identify the child as 15-year-old Aryeh Schupak.

• UN OCHA reports that on 8 December, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy was killed with live ammunition fired by Israeli forces along Route 465 near the village of Abud (Ramallah). According to Israeli sources, soldiers opened fire at five Palestinians who had been allegedly hurling stones and paint bottles at Israeli settler vehicles travelling on Road 465, an allegation disputed by eyewitnesses. During the same incident, three Palestinians were injured with live ammunition.

• UN OCHA reports that on 11 December, Israeli forces killed a 15-year-old girl during an Israeli search-and-arrest operation in Jenin Refugee Camp. An exchange of fire took place with Palestinians. DCIP reports that Jana Majdi Issam Assaf sustained two gunshot wounds to her upper chest and one to the right side of her head while she stood on the roof of her home as Israeli forces conducted a search and arrest operation in her neighbourhood. Reportedly, the bullet fragments and wounds were consistent with the use of expanding bullets by the Israeli military.

• UN OCHA reports that in the Gaza Strip, on 17 November, 21 Palestinians from the same extended family, including 11 children, were killed when a fire broke out in a residential building in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. Unsafe practices contributed to the gravity of the incident, according to an investigation by the de-facto authorities. The limited operational capacity of the Palestinian Civil Defense, due to disagreements with the PA and the Israeli-imposed ban on essential materials, also contributed to the large number of deaths.

Article 6(1) of the UNCRC provides that every child has the inherent right to life. A number of the above-mentioned fatal use of live-fire cases strongly indicate that Israeli forces have violated their legal duty under Article 6(1). Under international law, lethal force such as the use of live ammunition can only be deployed as a last resort when there is a direct and imminent threat to life or serious injury. Of particular concern is the prevalence of instances where live-fire by Israeli forces appear grossly disproportionate to any real or perceived threats.

The apparent circumstances of these killings are consistent with a grave failure by Israeli forces to treat the use of live ammunition as a final recourse only where the exigencies of the situation necessitate its reasonable and proportionate use. Instead, Israeli forces frequently appear to use live ammunition against Palestinian children in reported circumstances where they are under no apparent direct or imminent threat to life or serious injury.

B’Tselem has thoroughly investigated the use of live fire by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, concluding:

B’Tselem’s investigation and analysis indicates that these incidents were made possible by an open-fire policy that permits both shooting to kill in instances defined as “incidents of assault” and a trigger-happy approach to demonstrations or stone-throwing. This policy, which is broadly supported by senior officials, conveys profound disregard for the lives of Palestinians.

B’Tselem’s assessment that Israel’s rules of engagement for use of live-fire against Palestinians in the West Bank is excessive and disproportionate – an assessment supported by reporting of child fatalities outlined in LPHR’s Child Rights Bulletins over the last decade – raises grave concern of a systematic and widespread breach of Israel’s Article 6(1) right to life obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

INJURIES

UN OCHA records that at least 1,549 Palestinian children were injured during the reporting period (58 girls and 1491 boys), the majority by Israeli forces in the West Bank. Of these, 151 children were injured by live ammunition. 215 children were injured by rubber bullets. 31 were physically assaulted. 1,041 were injured by tear gas inhalation. Eight were hit by tear gas canisters. 42 were injured by air launched explosive weapons. 188 children were injured during Israeli military search and arrest operations. 724 were injured during demonstrations.

Injury incidents from 1 October- 31 December 2022 include:

• UN OCHA reports that on 22 October, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy was shot and injured with live ammunition after he stabbed and injured an Israeli in the vicinity of French Hill settlement in East Jerusalem.

• UN OCHA reports that in the Gaza Strip, on 1 November, three Palestinian children were injured by the detonation of unexploded ordnance (UXOs), after tampering with a munition they found northwest Rafah. For more information about the impact of unexploded ordnance on children, see LPHR’s Q&A on Unexploded Ordnance in Gaza.

• UN OCHA reports that on 10 November, an 11-year-old child was injured by the detonation of an unexploded ordnance (UXOs), after tampering with a munition he found near his house in Tell village (Nablus). The ordnance was reportedly fired by Israeli forces a day before during a military operation. For more information about the impact of unexploded ordnance on children, see LPHR’s Q&A on Unexploded Ordnance in Gaza.

Article 3(2) of the UNCRC provides that states shall ensure children the protection and care necessary for their well-being. The hundreds of children injured by Israeli forces prima facie violates both the letter and the spirit of Article 3(2).

SETTLER VIOLENCE

Settler violence directed at Palestinians continued during the reporting period. At least 18 children were injured by Israeli settlers during the period 1 October- 31 December 2022.

Incidents of settler violence between 1 October- 31 December 2022 include:

• UN OCHA reports that on 5 November, three Palestinians including a 13-year-old child were physically assaulted and stoned by a group of about 40 Israeli settlers while they were harvesting their olive trees north of Kafr ad Dik village in Salfit governorate; during the same incident, Israeli setters stole about 40kg of harvested crops and a harvesting machine. Such attacks occurred throughout the harvest season, affecting families’ livelihoods and contributing to a coercive environment.

• UN OCHA reports that on 3 November, a 13-year-old Israeli settler girl reportedly suffered from head injury in Kiryat Arba settlement as a result of a stray bullet; the Israeli army stated that the circumstances of the incident are under investigation.

• UN OCHA reports that on 15, 16 and 17 November, seven Palestinians, including one child were injured in five separate incidents after Israeli settlers threw stones toward Palestinian vehicles travelling on main roads.

• UN OCHA reports that on 18 November, a group of Israeli settlers, reportedly from the settler farm outposts near Rimonim settlement, accompanied by Israeli forces, physically assaulted, and injured a 14-year-old child whilst attacking Palestinians grazing their livestock near Al Mu’arrajat Center Bedouin community, east of Ramallah.

• UN OCHA reports that on 29 November, a three-year-old Palestinian child, a pregnant woman and two other Palestinians were injured (one by a stone and three by pepper spray) when Israeli settlers broke into Al Mughayyir village and threw stones at Palestinian houses and vehicles.

• UN OCHA reports that on 1 December, Israeli settlers physically assaulted and injured a 17-year-old child in the H2 area of Hebron City.

• UN OCHA reports that on 16 December, a 16-year-old boy was physically assaulted and injured when about 50 Israeli settlers, reportedly from Yitzhar settlement, broke into Madama village (Nablus) and threw stones at Palestinian houses and vehicles.

• UN OCHA reports that on 20 December, two children were physically assaulted and injured when Israeli settlers entered a public park in Al Mazra’a al Qabaliya village (Ramallah) and physically assaulted children, including with sticks.

• UN OCHA reports that 13 Palestinians, including an 18-month-old baby and two other children, were injured directly by Israeli settlers in four incidents on 23, 28 and 29 December, on main roads near Huwwara town and Osarin village (both in Nablus), where settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles.

Article 3(2) of the UNCRC provides that states should ensure the protection and care of children, as is necessary for their wellbeing. The ongoing violent attacks on children by Israeli settlers strongly indicates that Israel is in breach of Article 3(2). The Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din reports that incidents of violence by Israeli civilians against Palestinians and their property are a daily occurrence throughout the West Bank and that these incidents are rarely investigated properly by Israeli law enforcement. Moreover, only 3% of the investigations into complaints filed by Palestinians injured by settlers lead to convictions.

The low rate of investigations into attacks by Israeli settlers suggests that Israel is in violation of its obligations under Article 39 of the UNCRC, which stipulates that states should take all appropriate measures to promote the physical and psychological recovery of a child victim of abuse, and that such recovery should take place in an environment which fosters the health, self-respect and dignity of the child.

ARRESTS AND DETENTION

Between 1 October- 31 December 2022, UN OCHA reports that Israeli forces conducted over 673 search-and-arrest operations across the West Bank, arresting at least 85 children.

As of 31 December 2022, Military Court Watch reports that there are 157 Palestinian children (12 – 17 years old) being held in Israeli military detention facilities, seven of them under administrative detention (detention without charge or trial, which can be renewed indefinitely). Violent night-time arrests of Palestinian children from their family homes continued to be carried out by Israeli forces during the reporting period.

Arrest and detention incidents in the reporting period include:

• In testimony collected by MCW, a 14-year-old boy reports how on 3 October, he was arrested by a group of soldiers who violently raided his family home at 04:00. The boy testifies that Israeli soldiers blew open the front door, before spreading out over his home, taking the family’s telephones and identity cards. The soldiers blindfolded the boy and tied his hands before taking him to a police station in an Israeli settlement. During the boy’s interrogation, he remained blindfolded and tied. The interrogator threatened to trash the boy’s house if he did not confess to throwing stones. The interrogator wanted the 14-year-old to name other boys. The boy testifies: “I was scared that he might go to our house and trash it, so I confessed”. The boy was given a document in Hebrew, which he did not understand, to sign. He was then taken to Ofer prison, where he was strip searched. After seven military court hearings, he was released on bail. His mother had to pay NIS 4,000. The boy testifies: “Since my release I avoid leaving the house except to go to school. I stay home and don’t go out to play with my friends… I am finding it hard to focus at school, I still think of my experience in prison.”

• In testimony collected by MCW, a 14-year-old boy reports being beaten and arrested during a violent raid on his family home at 03:00 on 4 October. He reports that soldiers broke the door to his home and entered by force. Soldiers carrying guns went into his bedroom, where he was in bed, before demanding his ID and beating him. The boy testifies: “They did not allow me to put on proper clothes and dragged me outside in my shorts and under shirt. The soldiers prevented my parents from following me. My younger brother, who was eight, was terrified… a soldier tied my hands behind my back… Then he blindfolded me and walked me to where the jeeps were waiting. On the way the soldiers continued to beat me with the back of their guns and kick me, as well as swearing at me. They called me ‘a son of a whore’… I did not resist or say anything, still he beat me up. Someone accused me of throwing stones at soldiers and wanted to know why I did that. Then I was pushed into the back of a jeep and made me kneel on the metal floor. A soldier pushed my head down with his boots…” During his ordeal, the boy was strip searched. After eight military court hearings, the boy accepted a plea bargain and was fined. He testifies: “Until this day my parents are unable to fix the front door because they cannot afford it. We all feel unsafe and worry that soldiers might raid our home again.”

• UN OCHA reports that on 8 October, five children were arrested by Israeli forces in and around the Old City of Jerusalem, after Palestinians gathered to celebrate Prophet Mohammad’s birthday. Israeli forces reportedly ordered Palestinians to leave, and then fired rubber bullets, sound grenades and teargas canisters toward Palestinians who reportedly threw bottles.

• In testimony collected by MCW, a 14-year-old boy describes how he was arrested by Israeli soldiers at 03:00 on 12 October. He testifies: “I was asleep when I heard loud banging at our front door. By the time I got out of bed many Israeli soldiers were already inside our home. I heard one of the soldiers call my name. He told my parents they wanted to arrest me and question me about stone throwing. The soldier gave my parents a document filled out in Hebrew and asked my father to sign it. They did not give us a copy of this document.” The boy reports being blindfolded and having his hands tied. Inside a vehicle, soldiers mocked the boy and threatened to strip search him. During interrogation, the interrogator shouted at him to confess and inform on his friends. The boy testifies: “At one point another interrogator came in and yelled at me urging me to confess. Then he opened the door and ordered me to strip. I refused to strip and confessed to throwing two stones at the wall.” The boy signed documents in Hebrew, which he did not understand. He had seven military court hearing before being sentenced in a plea bargain to three months in prison and fined NIS 2,000. The boy was released in December; he describes being “dumped someplace I did not know”, many miles from his own village. Like many children, he did not receive family visits during his detention, as an Israeli-issued permit was not approved in time.

• In testimony collected by MCW, a 14-year-old boy describes being arrested by Israeli forces who entered his home at 04:00 on 12 October. The boy was blindfolded and his hands were tied. He was interrogated, slapped and shouted at before being allowed to speak to a lawyer, by which point he had confessed to stone throwing. He has eight military court hearings before being sentenced in a plea bargain to three months in prison and a fine of NIS 2,000. He testifies: “I missed so many school days and I’m finding it hard to cope. In prison I did not have any family visits because the permit was not issued in time.”

• In testimony given to MCW, a 13-year-old boy describes his arrest in the middle of the night on 12 October. He testifies: “Israeli soldiers raided our home at around 4:00 a.m. I woke up to the sound of loud banging at our front door. At first, I thought I was dreaming and went back to sleep, but then a soldier struck me with his elbow on my knee and grabbed me by my T-shirt around the neck. He pulled me out of bed and pushed me into the corner of the bedroom. Five other soldiers surrounded my parents and siblings. My mother was terrified and she passed out.” The boy describes being walked along a dirt road for about an hour with his hands tied. He testifies: “I fell a couple of times and the soldiers kicked and slapped me and called me ‘a son of a whore’. I was so upset that I swore back at them.” During interrogation, the boy reports that “without informing me of my right to silence, the interrogator accused me of chasing a soldier with the intention of killing him.” The boy denied the accusation and was asked to inform on other Palestinians. When he did not, he was threatened with three years imprisonment. He was strip searched in Ofer prison. He was released on bail and dropped off outside the prison, many miles from his home.

• In testimony collected by MCW, a mother describes the night-time arrest of her 13-year-old son by soldiers who entered her home at 03:30 on 12 October. She testifies: “around eight Israeli soldiers entered our home. They had broken open the door downstairs with a sledge hammer before coming up to our apartment… The soldiers went straight to the bedroom of our 13-year-old son… My son was still in bed and thought he was having a nightmare when he woke and saw soldiers over his head. He later told me a soldier kicked him in the knee while he was still in bed and then grabbed him by his T-shirt and pushed him against the wall. He then passed out. Meanwhile, when I went back to my bedroom to get properly dressed I was followed by a soldier who did not allow me to leave the bedroom. My other son was being held in the kitchen. About 30 minutes later the soldiers gathered us all in the living room… One of the soldiers aimed his gun at us and did not allow us to move or speak. I told the soldier that my two-month-old daughter was still in her crib and I pleaded with him to allow me to fetch her but he refused. I was terrified that the soldiers might accidentally harm her as they roamed around our home. All I wanted was to hold her in my arms. When my other daughter stood up to go and fetch the baby a soldier threw a chair at her and aimed his gun at her head. I thought he was going to shoot her. I was also worried the soldiers might use tear gas inside our house and I was panicking that my infant daughter would suffocate… Then they took my 13-year-old son outside. I looked out the window to say good bye to him and to tell him to be strong, but a soldier aimed his gun at me and yelled at me to shut the window. When the soldiers left we all burst into tears, sobbing and crying uncontrollably. We could not sleep… My husband blamed himself for allowing the solders to take our son away… It was a hellish night I will never forget. Our son was released on bail two days later.”

• In testimony collected by MCW, a 16-year-old child describes being physically assaulted and strip searched in the course of his arrest and detention. The child testifies that at 16:00 on 20 October, “I was standing on the side of the road watching the clashes when somebody shouted ‘soldiers… soldiers’. I immediately ran as fast as I could. An Israeli military jeep drove up behind me and nearly ran me over. Then four soldiers stepped out of the jeep, grabbed me and started to beat me hard. They kicked me on my legs and punched me in the face until blood came out of my nose. I was in pain. They also swore at me and called me ‘a son of a whore’… The soldiers took me to the back of a jeep and made me bend down on the metal floor as if I was praying. A soldier put his boots on my head and pushed me down. I was left in that position for about two hours.” The boy testifies that he was interrogated without being informed of his right to silence and that he was strip searched. He was released on bail on 25 October.

Article 37(a) of the UNCRC states that no child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 19 of the UNCRC provides that State Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence while in the care of any person who has the care of the child. In its General Comment No. 8, the Committee on the Rights of the Child indicated that “There is no ambiguity: ‘all forms of physical or mental violence’ does not leave room for any level of legalized violence against children”. Frequently documented acts of systematic ill-treatment of children, possibly rising to torture, during Israel’s military detention process, has led independent legal experts – funded by the UK Government – to conclude that Israel is in breach of Article 37(a) of the UNCRC.

Article 3(1) of the UNCRC obliges states to ensure that: ‘In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration’. Further, Article 37(b) of the UNCRC states that no child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily and that it shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time. The continued arbitrary arrests and detention of children, and the physical abuse of children who have been detained, suggest that Israel is in breach of both the spirit and the letter of Article 3(1) and 37(b).

Please see LPHR’s briefing on Israel’s military of Palestinian children for an accessible analysis of material legal and human rights issues arising from Israel’s military detention of Palestinian children.

INTERFERENCE AGAINST EDUCATION

Infringements on education in the reporting period of 1 October- 31 December 2022 include:

• UN OCHA reports that on 4 October, Israeli settlers, reportedly from Yitzhar, stormed the Urif school (Nablus) while classes were being held, and threw stones, forcing the administration to suspend school and evacuate the students to safety; two students and the school principal were injured, 250 students were otherwise affected, and damage to property was reported. Subsequently, Israeli forces shot teargas canisters at Palestinians who threw stones at settlers.

• UN OCHA reports that in October, Israeli forces restricted the movement of thousands of Palestinians in several locations across the West Bank. The restrictions hindered the access to and functioning of essential services and livelihoods: pupils and teachers faced delays in reaching schools, teaching hours were reduced, and, in some areas, classes were cancelled.

• UN OCHA reports that on 13 October, Israeli forces fired teargas canisters near a school, located 1,700 metres away from the perimeter fence, southeast of Gaza; three students were taken to hospital, and classes were suspended for the remainder of the day, affecting over 270 pupils.

• UN OCHA reports that on 23 November, the Israeli authorities demolished the Isfey Al Faqua donor-funded school in Masafer Yatta southern Hebron, after the Israeli High Court of Justice cancelled a temporary injunction prohibiting demolition. The school served 21 students from three different communities. Isfey Al Fauqa is one of 13 herding communities located in an area designated by the Israeli military as a ‘Firing Zone 918’ in Masafer Yatta, home to around 1,150 Palestinians half of whom are children.

Article 28 of the UNCRC stipulates that education should be accessible to all children on the basis of equal opportunity, obliging Israel to ensure that children in the oPt have unrestricted access to education. The issuing and implementation of demolition orders against schools, and the intentional targeting or disregard for impacting upon educational establishments evidenced by the above-mentioned events, appear to clearly breach both the spirit and the letter of Article 28.

DEMOLITIONS & DISPLACEMENT

Demolitions and displacement remain a matter of huge concern. Data collected by UN OCHA records that at least 259 people, including 140 children (67 girls and 73 boys) were displaced by the demolition of 274 structures (38 of them donor funded) in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the reporting period of this bulletin.

Incidents of demolitions and displacement during the reporting period include:

• B’Tselem reports that on 6 October, Israeli forces demolished the home of six people, including four children, in Kallet Taha, near the down of Deir Samit, west of Hebron. The forces fired in the air and threw stun grenades and tear gas canisters at local residents who protested the demolition, arresting two of them.

• B’Tselem reports that on 27 October, Israeli forces obliged 41 Palestinians, including 27 children, to evacuate their homes in Khirbet Humsah al-Foqa (northern Jordan Valley) for four days, to make way of military training exercises near their homes.

• B’Tselem reports that on 13 November, Israeli forces demolished three residential tents and left three families including seven children, homeless in the community of ‘Arab al-‘Anani wa al-Jabour, near the village of Deir Ballut in Salfit District. The community of ‘Arab al-‘Anani wa al-Jabour consists of seven families numbering 35 people in total, 17 of them children. The residents live permanently on the site, in tents, and live off shepherding. Their children attend school at Deir Ballut.

• B’Tselem reports that on 14 November, Israeli forces demolished a shack that was home to a family of five, including three children and vandalized three solar panels and four generators belonging to the same family. The demolitions took place in the neighbourhood of a-Taybah in the town of Tarqumya.

• B’Tselem reports that on 28 November, Israeli forces demolished the homes of two families of 16 people, including 12 children in the neighbourhood of Khallet al-‘Eidah in eastern Hebron.

• B’Tselem reports that on 29 November, Israeli forces demolished two homes the area of Isteih in the village of ‘Ein a-Duyuk a-Tahta, in the southern Jordan Valley, leaving a family of five, three of them children, homeless.

• B’Tselem reports that on 30 November, Israeli forces demolished three shacks, leaving 19 Palestinians, including 9 children, homeless. The demolitions took place in the community of Lifjim (al-Fajam), east of the village of ‘Aqraba in Nablus District.

• B’Tselem reports that on 6 December, Israeli forces moved on to the community of Khirbet a-Safai al-Foqa, which is located in Masafer Yatta inside the area the military declared Firing Zone 918. The forces dismantled and confiscated two tents used as classrooms for the community’s schoolchildren following the demolition of their school two weeks earlier.

• B’Tselem reports that on 8 December, Israeli forces dismantled and confiscated two shacks and two tents that were home to four families, displacing 27 people, including 16 children, in the community of Wadi a-Siq east of Ramallah. Israeli forces previously demolished the home of one of the families on 3 October 2022.

• B’Tselem reports that on 13 December, Israeli forces demolished the home of a family of 12, including four children, leaving them homeless, in the village of al-Jiftlik (central Jordan Valley).

• B’Tselem reports that in further demolitions the village of al-Jiftlik on 13 December, Israeli forces demolished the home of a family of 7, including three children, and a structure under construction belonging to another resident. A JCB heavy machinery vehicle is shown on video to be materially used in the dismantling of one of these structures.

• B’Tselem reports that on 20 December, Israeli forces demolished six tents that were the seasonal homes of five families including 11 children in the community of Khirbet Wadi Ejheish (South Hebron Hills). The tents were donated to the families by the Red Crescent and the Palestinian Authority’s National Commission against the Wall and the Settlements after Israeli forces demolished their old tents on 25 October.

Article 27 of the UNCRC protects children’s right to a standard of living and seeks to ensure that this standard is adequate with respect to the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. The UNCRC further adds that State Parties are responsible for taking appropriate measures to provide assistance in respect to nutrition, clothing and housing. The actions of the Government of Israel in rendering children and their parents homeless and disrupting families’ livelihoods through demolitions of homes, clearly violates both the letter and the spirit of the UNCRC.

Article 18(2) of the UNCRC obliges State Parties to give appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities. Demolitions and subsequent forced displacement violate this right as it harms parents and legal guardians’ ability to fulfil their responsibilities of looking after and providing shelter for their children.

Article 16(1) of the UNCRC protects children’s rights to not be subject to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family and home and Article 16(2) entitles children to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. Demolitions affect this right as it physically displaces children from their family homes without first giving them access to a legal system through which they could effectively challenge such actions.

[PDF version available here]

Key incidents outlined in this LPHR Child Rights Bulletin covering 11 January – 30 September 2022:

• At least 39 Palestinian children were killed by use of force during the first nine months of 2022. 21 children were shot and killed by Israeli forces or armed civilians in the West Bank. A further 17 children were killed in Gaza during the three-day hostilities between 5-7 August.

• Of the 17 Palestinian children killed in Gaza between 5-7 August, eight are reported to have been killed by Israeli military airstrikes, and five are reported to have been killed by rockets from the Palestinian armed group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The factual circumstances of four further child fatalities in Gaza are unconfirmed as of 17 October. The number of children killed (17) is precisely a third of all Palestinians killed (49) during the hostilities.

• On 25 March, a 19-month-old infant from Gaza died from a cardiological condition after repeated requests to Israeli authorities to exit Gaza for essential medical treatment in al-Makassed hospital in East Jerusalem were unsuccessful.

• On 24 August, a six-year-old child from Gaza died after Israeli authorities twice rejected his exit permit to access medical care at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.

• 560 children, are at risk of imminent forcible transfer from Masafer Yatta (in the South Hebron Hills, within Area C of the occupied West Bank) following an Israeli Supreme Court decision on 4 May 2022, that sanctioned the expulsion of all residents to make way for the area to be used for Israeli military training. Forcible transfer is contrary to international law and constitutes a war crime.

• On several occasions since the start of the school year in August, Israeli authorities have disrupted the access of teachers and students to school in Masafer Yatta, where four schools operate, through fixed and flying checkpoints. All schools in the area are at risk of demolition by Israeli authorities.

• A 13-year-old boy reports that Israeli soldiers repeatedly threatened to kill him and kept a rifle pointed at his head during an interrogation that lasted approximately two hours at Huwwara military base in the occupied West Bank.

• A 15-year-old boy reports that an Israeli interrogator extinguished a lit cigarette on his arm and repeatedly physically assaulted him in Megiddo prison, situated in Israel.

• Israeli settlers beat and abducted for two hours a 15-year-old Palestinian boy.

The key incidents and statistics outlined in this bulletin span a range of violation categories: ‘Fatalities’, ‘Injuries’, ‘Settler Violence’, ‘Arrests and Detention’, ‘Interference against Education’, ‘Displacement and Demolitions’. They are collated from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) and local human rights organisations: Defence for Children International-Palestine (DCIP), Yesh Din, Military Court Watch (MCW) and B’Tselem.

This bulletin outlines the specific rights of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) that apply to the key incidents affecting Palestinian children in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). As the occupying power, Israel has legal responsibilities under international conventions, including the UNCRC, for the safety, welfare, and human rights protection of civilians living in the oPt.

This bulletin concludes with a Further Reading section on the topic: Children in Gaza continue to be effectively denied access to critical medical treatment due to Israel’s closure policy.

For all our previous bulletins, please visit the Children’s Rights Project page of LPHR’s website.

LPHR gives special thanks to Jack Palmer for his excellent work preparing this bulletin.

FATALITIES

Data collected by UN OCHA records that at least 39 Palestinian children were killed during the reporting period 11 January- 30 September. Of these, 21 children were shot and killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or armed civilians. A further child aged seven-years-old was found dead in unclear circumstances on 29 September during military activity in the Bethlehem area.

17 children were killed in Gaza during the period 5-7 August. Of those killed in Gaza, eight were killed by Israeli military airstrikes. Five were killed by rockets from the Palestinian armed group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The circumstances of four deaths remain unclear. Outside of the period of active hostilities, two children in Gaza died from their medical condition after repeated applications for permits to exit Gaza for necessary medical treatment were unsuccessful.

• DCIP reports that on 14 February, Israeli forces shot and killed 16-year-old Mohammad Akram Ali Taher Abu Salah in the village of Silat Al-Harithiya, in the West Bank. Israeli forces had entered the village at around 22:00 in order to demolish a house. Mohammed was shot through the eye by an Israeli sniper as he was running away from the site where protesters had gathered.

• UN OCHA reports that on 22 February, Israeli forces shot and killed a 13-year-old Palestinian boy near Al Khadr village (Bethlehem). DCIP identified the child as Mohammed Rezq Shehadeh Salah. DCIP report that Mohammed was shot in the torso. DCIP reports that Israeli forces prevented a Palestinian ambulance from reaching Mohammad and that he was left on the ground for approximately half an hour before Israeli soldiers carried him away on a stretcher. An Israeli military statement alleged that Mohammad was throwing a Molotov cocktail at the time he was shot, according to Israeli media.

• UN OCHA reports that on 6 March, Israeli forces shot and killed a 15-year-old Palestinian boy. UN OCHA reports that according to medical sources, the boy was shot in the head. DCIP have identified the boy as Yamen Nafez Mahmoud Khanafseh. DCIP report that Israeli forces prevented Yamen from receiving medical assistance by firing tear gas cannisters at the ambulance arriving at the scene. An Israeli military statement alleged that Yamen was throwing Molotov cocktails at the time he was shot, according to Israeli media. No Israeli injuries were reported. Yamen’s body was confiscated by the Israeli authorities after his death.

• UN OCHA reports that on 15 March, a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed in Balata refugee camp. DCIP identified the boy as Nader Haitham Fathi Rayyan. DCIP report that after conducting an early morning raid on Balata refugee camp, Israeli forces withdrew in a convoy of armoured military vehicles. Nader and another boy passed the military convoy on a motorcycle, on their way to a relative’s cafe. When their motorcycle broke down, the two boys attempted to leave the area on foot. An Israeli soldier fired at least three bullets at them from inside his armoured vehicle. B’Tselem reports that Nader was shot in the back and injured. Then Israeli soldiers pursued the boys on foot, firing further shots, killing Nader. B’Tselem reports that a forensic examination of the body revealed that Rayan was shot at least eight times in the front, including in the head and chest, and three more times from behind. UN OCHA reports that Israeli sources allege Nader was shot after shooting at Israeli forces but that initial investigations by human rights organisations dispute this. B’Tselem reports that Israeli forces initially claimed that Nader fired a revolver, later alleging that the boy aimed a revolver at Israeli forces; the police did not find a revolver.

• B’Tselem reports that on 25 March, 19-month-old Fatimah al-Masri died from a cardiological condition after repeated applications to the Israeli authorities for permission to exit Gaza for essential medical treatment in a hospital in East Jerusalem were unsuccessful.

• UN OCHA reports that on 31 March, Israeli forces shot and killed two unarmed Palestinians and injured another twenty during a search-and-arrest operation in Jenin. One of the two killed was a 16-year-old boy. DCIP identified the boy as Sanad Mohammad Khalil Abu Atiya. DCIP report that Sanad was killed as he attempted to approach and render aid to 22-year-old Yazeed al-Saadi who had been shot in the back of the head.

• UN OCHA reports that on 9 April, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians in Jenin camp, killing one man and injuring another ten, including a child who succumbed to his wounds two days later. DCIP identified the child as 16-year-old Mohammad Hussein Mohammad Qassim. Mohammad was reportedly shot in the abdomen from a distance of approximately four feet without warning by an Israeli soldier firing bullets from a military vehicle’s rear window. Mohammad was running along behind the Israeli convoy that was departing Jenin, reportedly looking for stones to throw at the military vehicle.

• UN OCHA reports that on 13 and 14 April, Israeli forces shot and killed four Palestinians and injured a further six in Kafr Dan during search and arrest operations. One of those injured was a 17-year-old who succumbed to his wounds. DCIP identified the child as Shawkat Kamal Shawkat Abed. Following clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian youths during the raiding of Palestinian homes by soldiers, Shawkat was shot in the abdomen from the rear window of a departing Israeli military vehicle. DCIP reports that an Israeli soldier was firing indiscriminately at Palestinians from a distance of approximately 25 metres. DCIP reports that Shawkat’s injuries appear to have been caused by an exploding bullet.

• UN OCHA reports that on 14 April, a 14-year-old boy was killed at entrance of Husan, Bethlehem, when youths were throwing stones at Israeli forces positioned at the entrance to the village and Israeli forces fired live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas cannisters. DCIP identified the child as Qusai Fuad Mohammad Hamamra. Qusai suffered multiple gunshot wounds, including at least one to the head. DCIP report that Israeli forces prevented Palestinian paramedics from treating Qusai. According to Israeli media, the Israeli military allege that Qusai had thrown a Molotov cocktail before he was shot.

• UN OCHA reports that on 8 May, a 17-year-old Palestinian boy was shot in the eye and killed by an Israeli security guard in the Israeli settlement of Tekoa (Bethlehem). DCIP identifies the boy as Motasem Mohammad Taleb Atallah. The Israeli authorities allege the boy climbed over the perimeter fence into the settlement and was seen holding a knife. No Israeli injuries were reported in the incident.

• UN OCHA reports that on 11 May, Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old boy in Al Bireh (Ramallah) as students were leaving their school nearby. Palestinians threw stones at Israeli forces, who shot live ammunition, hitting the schoolboy in the chest, as well as another boy who was injured. Witnesses say neither child was involved in the stone throwing. No Israeli injuries were reported in the incidents. DCIP identifies the boy as Thaer Khalil Mohammad Maslat.

• UN OCHA reports that Israeli forces conducted a search-and-arrest operation in Jenin and exchanged fire with armed Palestinians, killing a boy. DCIP reports that 16-year-old Amjad Walid Hussein Fayed was shot in the chest with live ammunition on 21 May. Israeli forces in military vehicles were deployed on a road opposite Al-Anbar roundabout. Reportedly, Amjad and another Palestinian youth approached and threw a Molotov cocktail at one of the vehicles, about 20 meters away. Israeli soldiers outside the vehicles shot Amjad, who sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

• UN OCHA reports that on 24 May, Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy, near Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus city. DCIP reports that Ghaith Mohammad Rafiq Ziad Yamin was shot in the head with live ammunition after Israeli forces and settlers entered the area. It is reported that Israeli forces allege that the boy was throwing a Molotov cocktail; this claim has not been verified.

• UN OCHA reports that on 27 May, Israeli forces shot and killed a 14-year-old boy near Al Khader village (Bethlehem). DCIP identifies the boy as Zaid Mohammad Said Ghunaim, reporting that he was shot in the shoulder with live ammunition from a distance of 15–20 metres as he fled from the area where Israeli forces were deployed, near his home. UN OCHA reports that the Israeli military allege the boy was throwing Molotov cocktails; while according to eyewitnesses, he was not involved in any clashes. During the boy’s funeral procession, three Palestinians, including one child, were shot and injured with live ammunition during clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians.

• UN OCHA reports that on 2 June, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian boy in Al Midya, Ramallah. DCIP reports that 16-year-old Odeh Mohammad Odeh Sadaqa was shot in the back with live ammunition by Israeli forces at approximately 16:00. Odeh was walking with two friends about 100 metres from his home when Israeli forces deployed in the area opened fire on them. As they attempted to flee, Odeh was shot. It is reported that Israeli military sources allege that the boy threw a Molotov cocktail before being shot. No Israeli injuries were reported.

• UN OCHA reports that on 24 June, Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy at the entrance of Silwad (Ramallah). According to Palestinian sources, no clashes or injuries were reported at the time, however, Israeli sources report that the boy was a suspected of throwing stones at Israeli vehicles. DCIP identified the boy as 16-year-old, Mohammad Abdallah Salah Suleiman.

• UN OCHA reports that on 29 July, a 15-year-old Palestinian boy was shot in the back with live ammunition and killed in Al Mughayyir village (Ramallah), after a group of armed settlers raided an area where Palestinians were protesting settlement activities. Settlers attacked Palestinians who threw stones and Israeli forces intervened by shooting. DCIP reports that Amjad Nashat Faheem Naser was shot at around 11:30am, while he and other protesters were fleeing. It remains unclear whether an Israeli soldier or armed Israeli settler fired the fatal round; both were firing live ammunition.

• DCIP reports that 16-year-old Dirar Riyad Lufti Al-Haj Saleh was shot in the back with live ammunition by Israeli forces at around 22:35 on 1 August during an Israeli military incursion into Jenin refugee camp. UN OCHA reports that the incursion saw exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and armed Palestinians, and that Islamic Jihad claimed the boy as an affiliate.

• DCIP reports that on 5 August, 10-year-old Layan Mosleh Hamdi Al-Shaer was injured by Israeli military shelling near Khan Younis in Gaza. Layan suffered a critical head injury. Four days later, on 9 August, she was transferred to a hospital in Jerusalem, where her family was not permitted to accompany her. She died on 11 August.

• DCIP reports that on 5 August, 5-year-old Alaa Abdullah Riyad Qaddoum was killed in an Israeli military airstrike in the Shuja’iyya neighbourhood of Gaza City. The airstrike hit a group of people gathered outside a mosque in the neighborhood. Alaa’s six-year-old brother was injured in the same attack.

• DCIP reports that on 6 August, 13-year-old Mohammad Iyad Hassouna was killed in an Israeli military airstrike on Rafah refugee camp, in Gaza. An Israeli warplane apparently targeted a three-storey residential building without warning, firing at least six rockets, destroying eight homes with families still inside, killing seven people, and injuring another 35 people, including 18 children.

• DCIP reports that on 6 August, four Palestinian children were killed by a rocket from a Palestinian armed group in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. The explosion killed five-year-old Momen Mohammad Ahmad Al-Nayrab, 11-year-old Ahmad Mohammad Ahmad Al-Nayrab, 9-year-old Hazem Mohammad Ali Salem, and 16-year-old Ahmad Waleed Ahmad Al-Farram. The explosion injured 26 other children. The Palestinian armed group responsible for this rocket attack has been identified as Palestinian Islamic Jihad by independent reporting in Gaza.

• DCIP reports that on 7 August, an Israeli military drone-fired missile struck Al-Fallujah cemetery, in the northern Gaza Strip, killing five Palestinian children: 3-year-old Jameel Najmuddin Jameel Najim, 16-year-old Hamed Heidar Hamed Najim, 13-year-old Jameel Ihab Jameel Najim, 16-year-old Mohammad Salah Hamed Najim, and 15-year-old Nathmi Fayez Abdulhadi Abu Karsh.

• DCIP reports that on 8 August, 10-year-old Haneen Waleed Mohammad Abu Qaida succumbed to wounds sustained on 6 August, when a rocket fired by a Palestinian armed group struck a nearby vehicle as she stood near the doorway to her home in Beit Hanoun, Gaza. The explosion injured five other children. The Palestinian armed group responsible for this rocket attack is likely to be Palestinian Islamic Jihad based on relevant independent reporting in Gaza.

• DCIP reports that 15-year-old Fatima Ayed Abdulfattah Obaid was killed in an explosion in northern Gaza on 7 August. DCIP is still investigating the source of this explosion, which they report coincided with Israeli military drones flying over the areas as well as launches of rockets from Palestinian armed groups.

• DCIP reports that three Palestinian children were killed in an explosion on 7 August, which struck a family home in Al-Bureij refugee camp, Gaza. The three children killed were: 14-year-old Dalia, 12-year-old Mohammad, and 9-year-old Ahmed Yasser Nemer Nabaheen. DCIP is still investigating the source of this explosion, which they report coincided with Israeli military drones flying over the areas as well as launches of rockets from Palestinian armed groups.

• Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights reports that a six-year-old child, Farouq Mohammed Abu Naja, with a developmental regression condition, died after he was twice denied access to medical care at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. Both patient exit permit requests submitted to Israeli authorities on 12 January 2022 and 10 August 2022 remained under review.

• UN OCHA and DCIP report that Israeli forces fatally shot two 16-year-old boys in Nablus on 9 August. 16-year-old Hussein Jamal Hussein Taha was shot in the lower abdomen with live ammunition by Israeli forces as the Israeli military stormed the old city in Nablus. Hussein was on his way to shop for groceries with his father and 13-year-old brother when he was shot. Later the same day, 16-year-old Momen Yasin Mohammad Joude Jaber was shot in the chest with live ammunition, during a protest against the Israeli military raid in Nablus.

• UN OCHA reports that on 8 September, a 17-year-old Palestinian boy was fatally shot by Israeli forces after reportedly attempting to stab an Israeli soldier near Beit El/DCO checkpoint in Ramallah. DCIP reports that Haitham Hani Mohammad Mubarak was shot with live ammunition by Israeli forces.

• UN OCHA reports that a 17-year-old boy was fatally shot by Israeli forces during an Israeli military raid on Kafr Dan (Jenin) on 15 September. DCIP identifies the boy as Odai Trad Hisham Salah, reporting that he was shot in the head and chest. During the raid, Israeli forces fired live ammunition and teargas canisters at residents who threw stones.

• UN OCHA reports that a 7-year-old child, Rayyan Suleiman, died during a military activity carried out by Israeli forces in a Tuqu’ (Bethlehem) on 29 September. The circumstances of the death are unclear. The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process has called for an investigation into the circumstances of the boy’s death.

Article 6(1) of the UNCRC provides that every child has the inherent right to life. The above-mentioned cases of fatal use of live-fire strongly indicate that Israeli forces have violated their legal duty under Article 6(1). Under international law, lethal force such as the use of live ammunition can only be deployed as a last resort when there is a direct and imminent threat to life or serious injury.

Of particular concern is the prevalence of instances where live-fire by Israeli forces appear grossly disproportionate to any real or perceived threats. Mohammad Hussein Mohammad Qassim and as Shawkat Kamal Shawkat Abed were reportedly both fatally shot from departing Israeli convoys. Sanad Mohammad Khalil Abu was reportedly attempting to render first aid. Nader Haitham Fathi Rayyan was shot in the back when fleeing.

The apparent circumstances of these killings are consistent with a grave failure by Israeli forces to treat the use of live ammunition as a final recourse only where the exigencies of the situation necessitate its reasonable and proportionate use. Instead, Israeli forces appear to frequently use live ammunition against Palestinian children in reported circumstances where they are under no apparent direct or imminent threat to life or serious injury.

B’Tselem has thoroughly investigated the use of live fire by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, concluding:

B’Tselem’s investigation and analysis indicates that these incidents were made possible by an open-fire policy that permits both shooting to kill in instances defined as “incidents of assault” and a trigger-happy approach to demonstrations or stone-throwing. This policy, which is broadly supported by senior officials, conveys profound disregard for the lives of Palestinians.

B’Tselem’s assessment that Israel’s rules of engagement for use of live-fire against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank is excessive and disproportionate – an assessment supported by reporting of child fatalities outlined in LPHR’s Child Rights Bulletins over the last decade – raises grave concern of a systematic and widespread breach of Israel’s Article 6(1) right to life obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In the context of the hostilities in Gaza between 5-7 August 2022, which caused the deaths of 17 Palestinian children, it is imperative to emphasise that in situations of armed conflict, all parties to the conflict, including all state and non-state actors, are bound by the applicable rules of international humanitarian law found under customary international law. Accordingly, Israel and the Palestinian armed group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, whom were parties to the August hostilities, were bound alike by the relevant rules of customary international law, including those applicable to the conduct of hostilities.

The main customary international law principles on the conduct of hostilities are:

• The principle of distinction requires that parties to a conflict distinguish between civilians and civilian objects on the one hand, and combatants and military objectives on the other. Attacks may only be directed against the latter. In order for an object or building to be considered a military objective it must meet two cumulative criteria namely that (1) by its nature, location, purpose or use it makes an effective contribution to military action and, (2) the object’s total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage.
• The principle of proportionality prohibits attacks that are expected to cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.
• The principle of precautions in attack requires all parties to take all feasible measures to avoid and in any event to minimize incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects. This includes: verifying that the target is a military objective and that the attack respects the proportionality requirement; choosing weapons and timing for the attack with a view to avoiding or minimizing civilian casualties; issuing advance warnings when feasible; and suspending an attack if it becomes apparent that it does not respect the principle of proportionality.

The aforementioned cases of 17 children being killed in Gaza as a direct result of Israeli military airstrikes and Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket attacks raise a clear concern that serious breaches of these fundamental international humanitarian law principles may have occurred. An effective investigation should be undertaken into the circumstances of these killings as part of the International Criminal Court’s current investigation into the Situation in Palestine, so to ensure that legal accountability is genuinely pursued, rather than denied, for these child victims and their families.

INJURIES

UN OCHA records that at least 866 Palestinian children were injured during the reporting period, the majority by Israeli forces in the West Bank. These injuries were caused by tear gas inhalation, rubber bullets (all types), live ammunition, physical assault, tear gas canisters (hit by) and other unspecified weapons. Many of the injuries occurred during Israeli military search and arrest operations across the West Bank, as well as during clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, in East Jerusalem. At least 151 children were injured in Gaza during Israeli military airstrikes and Palestinian Islamic Jihad firing of rockets during the period 5-7 August.

Injury incidents from 11 January- 30 September 2022 include:

• UN OCHA reports that between 11-24 January, at least 6 children were amongst the 46 people injured in three incidents in Nablus where Israeli settlers raided and attacked Palestinian communities, following which stone-throwing with Palestinians ensued, and Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters and rubber bullets.

• UN OCHA reports that in March, a 15-year-old boy in Gaza was injured by the explosion of an unexploded ordnance which he found on the ground. The boy sustained serious injuries, necessitating the amputation of his hand. For more information about the impact of unexploded ordnance on children, see LPHR’s Q&A on Unexploded Ordnance in Gaza.

• UN OCHA reports that on 15 and 17 April, Israeli forces raided the Al Aqsa Mosque compound and used force to evacuate Palestinians. Israeli forces reportedly shot stun grenades, sponge-tipped bullets and beat Palestinians with batons, including children, women, journalists and others who were demonstrably not involved in any stone-throwing. A total of 180 Palestinians, including 27 children, were injured.

• UN OCHA reports that on six occasions between 19 April- 9 May, Israeli police carried out operations in and around the Al Aqsa Mosque compound. Israeli forces reportedly shot stun grenades, sponge-tipped bullets, and teargas cannisters, and beat Palestinians with batons, including children, women, and journalists. 15 children were injured. These operations followed three consecutive weeks of almost daily raids by Israeli forces to evacuate Palestinian worshippers to secure the entry of Israelis into the compound.

• UN OCHA reports that onn 29 May, nine children were among the 87 Palestinians injured by rubber bullets and stun grenades during clashes that occurred when thousands of Israeli settlers and other Israelis marched through East Jerusalem during the annual “Jerusalem Day,” which commemorates the Israeli capture of East Jerusalem in 1967. The Israeli authorities deployed thousands of police and installed metal barriers outside the Damascus Gate, blocking Palestinian access in and out of the Old City of Jerusalem.

• UN OCHA reports that on 7 June, in the middle area of Gaza Strip, a 17-year-old Palestinian boy sustained injuries when an explosive remnant of war (ERW) went off while he was handling it. For more information about the impact of unexploded ordnance on children, see LPHR’s Q&A on Unexploded Ordnance in Gaza.

• UN OCHA reports that at least 151 children were injured in Gaza during Israeli military airstrikes and Palestinian Islamic Jihad firing of rockets during the period 5-7 August. Injury incidents reported by UN OCHA include an Israeli military airstrike on a three-storey residential building on 6 August, which injured 18 children (this incident is referred to in the above fatalities section).

• UN OCHA reports that in September, a 9-year-old and a 12-year-old boy were injured by the detonation of an unexploded ordnance, after tampering with a munition they found while collecting scrap east of Khan Yunis, Gaza. For more information about the impact of unexploded ordnance on children, see LPHR’s Q&A on Unexploded Ordnance in Gaza.

• UN OCHA reports that between 13-26 September, 175 Palestinians, including at least 29 children, were injured by Israeli forces across the West Bank. Injury incidents occurred across the West Bank, including at demonstrations against settlements and the closure of a Palestinian village’s entrance by Israeli forces, attacks by Israeli settlers, and Israeli military search and arrest operations in Palestinian communities.

Article 3(2) of the UNCRC provides that states shall ensure children the protection and care necessary for their well-being. The hundreds of children injured by Israeli forces prima facie violates both the letter and the spirit of Article 3(2).

SETTLER VIOLENCE

Settler violence directed at Palestinians continued during the reporting period. At least 17 children were injured by Israeli settlers during the period 11 January- 30 September 2022.

Incidents of settler violence between 11 January – 30 September 2022 include:

• UN OCHA reports that between 11-24 January, at least six children were amongst the 46 people injured in three incidents in Nablus where Israeli settlers raided and attacked Palestinian communities, following which stone-throwing with Palestinians ensued, and Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters and rubber bullets.

• UN OCHA reports that on 3 February, Israeli settlers attacked and pepper sprayed a 14-year old boy whilst he was shepherding sheep near the Israeli settlement of Havat Gal in Hebron.

• B’Tselem reports that on 8 February in the al-Qanub area (Hebron District), around 10 settlers arrived at the home of 10 Palestinians, which included six children. Further settlers, some of them armed with clubs and axes, arrived. The settlers stoned and beat the father of the family, while his wife and children fled. Such incidents, likely to traumatise children and their families, are not unusual. During a campaign of settler violence over the last two years that has contributed to a relentlessly coercive environment for Palestinians resident in Area C of the occupied West Bank, the number of Palestinian families in the al-Qanub area has decreased by almost half.

• UN OCHA reports that settlers injured two children between 19 April-9 May, including a four-year-old, who was injured when stones were thrown at Palestinian vehicles.

• UN OCHA reports that on 22 May, a 15-year-old boy was beaten and abducted by settlers near Esh Kosdeh settlement (Nablus) for two hours, before he was handed over to an ambulance and taken to the hospital for medical treatment.

• UN OCHA reports that between 14- 27 June, settlers injured two children. One injury occurred when settlers attacked Palestinian farmers working on their land. The other injury occurred on 15 June, when Israeli settlers physically assaulted and pepper-sprayed family members sitting in a car that stopped in an Israeli flying checkpoint near Duma (Nablus), injuring a two-month-old baby.

• UN OCHA reports that in August, a 16-year-old boy was injured when Israeli settlers attacked him with stones and physically assaulted him.

• UN OCHA reports that a 13-year-old Palestinian boy was physically assaulted and injured by an Israeli settler in the H2 area of Hebron in August.

Article 3(2) of the UNCRC provides that states should ensure the protection and care of children, as is necessary for their wellbeing. The ongoing violent attacks on children by Israeli settlers strongly indicates that Israel is in breach of Article 3(2). The Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din reports that incidents of violence by Israeli civilians against Palestinians and their property are a daily occurrence throughout the West Bank and that these incidents are rarely investigated properly by Israeli law enforcement. Moreover, only 3% of the investigations into complaints filed by Palestinians injured by settlers lead to convictions.

The low rate of investigations into attacks by Israeli settlers suggests that Israel is in violation of its obligations under Article 39 of the UNCRC, which stipulates that states should take all appropriate measures to promote the physical and psychological recovery of a child victim of abuse, and that such recovery should take place in an environment which fosters the health, self-respect and dignity of the child.

ARRESTS AND DETENTION

Between 11 January- 30 September 2022, UN OCHA reports that Israeli forces conducted 2,001 search-and-arrest operations across the West Bank, arresting 2,374 Palestinians, including at least 119 children. In addition, children are frequently arrested during terrifying night-time raids on the family home of the child by Israel’s forces. Nine further children were arrested while fishing off the shore of Gaza, and seven were arrested near the perimeter fence separating Gaza and Israel.

As of 30 September 2022, Military Court Watch reports that there are 129 Palestinian children (12 – 17 years old) being held in Israeli military detention facilities, seven of them under administrative detention (detention without charge or trial, which can be renewed indefinitely).

Arrest and detention incidents in the reporting period include:

• DCIP reports that on 8 February, Israeli forces repeatedly threatened to kill a 13-year-old boy while interrogating him at Huwwara military base in the occupied West Bank. A rifle was kept pointed at the boy’s head during his interrogation, which lasted approximately two hours. The boy was detained by a soldier while on his way home from a grocery shop. The boy was not charged with any offence but was asked to act as an informant.

• DCIP reports that on 22 February, an Israeli interrogator extinguished a lit cigarette on a 15-year-old during an interrogation in Megiddo prison in Israel. The boy was repeatedly physically assaulted. The boy was accused of throwing stones, which he denies. In March, the child was released after paying a fine.

• UN OCHA reports that in February, Israeli forces arrested three children who were fishing off the northern Gaza shore, confiscating their boat, before releasing all of them.

• B’Tselem reports that on 6 March, Israeli police arrested a 9-year-old and a 13-year-old boy, purportedly for throwing stones at vehicles. The mother of the 13-year-old boy was denied permission to accompany him during his interrogation. The 9-year-old boy was released upon the signing of documents in Hebrew, which his mother was unable to understand.

• B’Tselem reports that on 28 March, soldiers arrested and assaulted a 13-year-old boy with an intellectual disability. A group of about eight Palestinian teens used lasers to provoke soldiers and Special Police Unit officers who were at the entrance to their village in Ramallah. The teens then fled and Israeli forces chased them in a vehicle, capturing the 13-year-old boy. They assaulted him, tied his hands, blindfolded him and took him away. After approximately two hours, the officers brought him back to the entrance to the village and released him there, handcuffed and blindfolded, before later arriving at his home and arresting and beating two of his relatives.

• UN OCHA reports that on 15 April, 60 children were among the hundreds of Palestinian arrested when Israeli forces raided the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem, forcibly evacuating Palestinians.

• UN OCHA reports that between 19 April- 9 May, three children were arrested while fishing off the coast of Gaza. Since 2007, Israel has maintained a severe closure policy on Gaza, which includes restrictions on fishing off the coast of the Gaza Strip.

• UN OCHA reports that on 16 May, children were among the 18 Palestinians arrested in the cemetery near the Old City of Jerusalem, at the funeral of a Palestinian man. Israeli forces restricted the access of Palestinian mourners to the funeral procession and shot rubber bullets at an ambulance carrying the deceased’s body. During the procession, Israeli forces confiscated Palestinian flags and assaulted mourners. Palestinians reportedly shot firecrackers at Israeli police officers, who responded with stun grenades.

• B’Tselem reports that on 1 June, Israeli soldiers detained a 13-year-old girl, claiming she had held a knife while standing on the steps of her house, reportedly following an allegation made by an Israeli settler. The girl, who denied the accusation, was led by soldiers, without her parents, to a nearby street, where she was questioned for approximately 15 minutes before being released.

• B’Tselem reports that on 25 June, Israeli soldiers detained a six-year-old boy and detained and beat a 13-year-old boy. The incident occurred in Kisan, a village in Bethlehem. The six-year-old’s mother, along with neighbours and relatives, tried to free her son, but soldiers hurled stun grenades at them to keep them away. Soldiers also beat a 13-year-old boy who was visiting the village, threatening to arrest him and demanding he provide the names of villagers who had participated in a protest. Both boys were held for about an hour.

Article 37(a) of the UNCRC states that no child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 19 of the UNCRC provides that State Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence while in the care of any person who has the care of the child. In its General Comment No. 8, the Committee on the Rights of the Child indicated that “There is no ambiguity: ‘all forms of physical or mental violence’ does not leave room for any level of legalized violence against children”. Frequently documented acts of systematic ill-treatment of children, possibly rising to torture, during Israel’s military detention process, has led independent legal experts – funded by the UK Government – to conclude that Israel is in breach of Article 37(a) of the UNCRC.

Article 3(1) of the UNCRC obliges states to ensure that: ‘In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration’. Further, Article 37(b) of the UNCRC states that no child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily and that it shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time. The continued arbitrary arrests of children, and the physical abuse of children who have been detained, suggest that Israel is in breach of both the spirit and the letter of Article 3(1) and 37(b).

Please see LPHR’s briefing on Israel’s military of Palestinian children for an accessible analysis of material legal and human rights issues arising from Israel’s military detention of Palestinian children.

INTERFERENCE AGAINST EDUCATION

Infringements on education in the reporting period of 11 January- 30 September 2022 include:

• UN OCHA reports that on 18 January, Israeli forces raided a school in Deir Nidham village (Ramallah) and physically assaulted and arrested two 17-year-old students, reportedly for throwing stones. According to the principal, Israeli forces damaged school windows, chairs and tables, during physical confrontations between school staff, students and Israeli forces. Classes were suspended for the remainder of the day, affecting over 210 pupils.

• UN OCHA records that on 9 and 21 February, Israeli settlers gathered to protest stone throwing in Al Lubban ash Sharqiya (Nablus) and Palestinian residents responded with stone throwing. Israeli forces then fired tear gas cannisters, some of which landed in the compound of two schools. Two students were hospitalised for tear gas inhalation treatment and at least 700 students were affected by the disruption of their studies.

• UN OCHA reports that two donor-funded schools are at risk of demolition in southern Hebron and Ramallah. On 3 August, the Israeli civil administration issued a final demolition order against two rooms that are part of a school in Mantiqat Shi’b al Butum, south of Hebron. The school was built in 2015 through a donor-funded project and serves children from a large number of communities.

• UN OCHA reports that on 10 August, an Israeli court ordered the immediate demolition of a donor-funded school in the herding community of Ein Samiya, northeast of Ramallah, affecting about 17 students. The school is now at imminent threat of demolition.

• UN OCHA reports that on several occasions since the start of the school year, Israeli authorities have disrupted the access of teachers and students to school in Masafer Yatta, where four schools operate, through fixed and flying checkpoints. All schools in the area are at risk of demolition by Israeli authorities. On 30 August, Israeli forces stopped a school bus carrying pupils to Al Fakhiet school, forcing at least 30 children to walk a long distance to school. The next day, nine Jinba school teachers were stopped by Israeli forces at a flying checkpoint and forced to continue by foot.

• UN OCHA reports that on 31 August, Israeli settlers stormed the Urif school (Nablus) while classes were being held, and threw stones, forcing the administration to suspend school and evacuate the students to safety; 250 students were affected, and damage was reported to the school.

Article 28 of the UNCRC stipulates that education should be accessible to all children on the basis of equal opportunity, obliging Israel to ensure that children in the oPt have unrestricted access to education. The issuing of demolition orders against schools, and the intentional targeting or disregard for impacting upon educational establishments evidenced by the above-mentioned events, appear to clearly breach both the spirit and the letter of Article 28.

DEMOLITIONS & DISPLACEMENT

Demolitions and displacement remain a matter of huge concern. Data collected by UN OCHA records that 736 people, including at least 356 children (156 girls and 200 boys) were displaced by the demolition of 647 structures (90 of them donor funded) in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the reporting period of this bulletin.

Additionally, UN OCHA reports that during Israeli military airstrikes on Gaza and the firing of rockets by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, 1,761 housing units in Gaza sustained damage. 450 people (number of children unknown) were displaced.

Incidents of demolitions and displacement during the reporting period include:

• UN OCHA records that between 11-24 January, Israeli forces forcibly evicted 51 people of which 21 were children in East Jerusalem. Amongst the over 20 structures destroyed were homes, animal shelters and water cisterns.

• UN OCHA reports that on multiple occasions between 9-11 February, Israeli forces forced families, including at least 17 children, to evacuate their homes in the Jordan Valley to make way for Israeli military training exercises.

• UN OCHA reports that between 22 February- 7 March, Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated or forced owners to demolish 27 Palestinian homes and buildings in Area C and East Jerusalem, displacing 50 people, including 22 children.

• UN OCHA reports that on 7 March, Israeli forces conducted punitive demolitions of two homes in Silat al Harthiya in Jenin, displacing 12 people, including 6 children. The targeted structures were home to the families of two Palestinians prosecuted for killing an Israeli settler in 2021.

• UN OCHA reports that on 4 May, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected the petition filed by 12 Palestinian herding communities of Masafer Yatta (South Hebron Hills) against the Israeli military’s decision to use 30,000 dunums of their land as an active ‘firing zone.’ The decision allows for the eviction of about 1,200 Palestinians, including 560 children, whom are now at risk of imminent forcible transfer, contrary to international law.

• UN OCHA reports that 42 children are at risk of displacement following the Israeli authorities’ delivery of a final demolition order to the owners of a residential building, comprising 12 housing units, in Wadi Qaddum in the Silwan neighbourhood of East Jerusalem on 25 May.

• UN OCHA reports that between 14- 27 June, six children were displaced when the Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated or forced people to demolish 39 Palestinian-owned structures in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank, citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits; nine of the structures had been provided as donor-funded humanitarian aid. Some 36 of the targeted structures were in Area C, including 19 structures in Ibziq area which is designated as a ‘firing zone’ for military training, and where Palestinian communities are at risk of forcible transfer

• UN OCHA reports that between 28 June- 18 July, 21 children were displaced when the Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated, or forced people to demolish 51 Palestinian-owned structures in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank. Some 47 of the targeted structures were in Area C, including two structures in southern Hebron areas which are designated as ‘firing zones’ for military training, and where Palestinian communities are at risk of forcible transfer.

• UN OCHA reports that between 19 July- 1 August, 17 children were displaced when the Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated, or forced people to demolish 38 Palestinian-owned structures in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank. 36 of the targeted structures were in Area C, including one home in Umm Qussa Bedouin community in the South Hebron Hills, an area which is designated as ‘firing zone’ for military training, and where Palestinian communities are at risk of forcible transfer.

• UN OCHA reports that on 25 July, 10 children were displaced when Israeli forces carried out punitive demolitions in Qarawat Bani Hassan (Salfit) village of two homes of Palestinians whose family members were accused of killing an Israeli settlement guard in April 2022.

• UN OCHA reports that on 8 August, Israeli forces raided Rummana (Jenin) village, in Area B, and demolished on punitive grounds two multi-storey homes of families whose members are indicted of killing three people and injuring three others in Israel in May 2022. The displaced families comprise 13 people, including four children.

• UN OCHA reports that between 2-15 August, the Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated, or forced people to demolish 50 Palestinian-owned structures in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank, displacing 55 people, including 28 children.

• UN OCHA reports that between 16-29 August, the Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated, or forced people to demolish 55 Palestinian-owned structures in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank, displacing 61 people, including 31 children.

• UN OCHA reports that between 30 August- 12 September, the Israeli authorities demolished, confiscated, or forced people to demolish 44 Palestinian-owned structures in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank, displacing 29 people, including ten children.

• UN OCHA reports that between 13- 26 September, the Israeli authorities demolished or confiscated 45 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C of the West Bank, displacing 21 people, including 13 children.

Article 27 of the UNCRC protects children’s right to a standard of living and seeks to ensure that this standard is adequate with respect to the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. The UNCRC further adds that State Parties are responsible for taking appropriate measures to provide assistance in respect to nutrition, clothing and housing. The actions of the Government of Israel in rendering children and their parents homeless and disrupting families’ livelihoods through demolitions of homes, clearly violates both the letter and the spirit of the UNCRC.

Article 18(2) of the UNCRC obliges State Parties to give appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities. Demolitions and subsequent forced displacement violate this right as it harms parents and legal guardians’ ability to fulfil their responsibilities of looking after and providing shelter for their children.

Article 16(1) of the UNCRC protects children’s rights to not be subject to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family and home and Article 16(2) entitles children to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. Demolitions affect this right as it physically displaces children from their family homes without first giving them access to a legal system through which they could challenge such actions.

Further reading

Children in Gaza continue to be effectively denied access to critical medical treatment due to Israel’s closure policy

In March, B’Tselem reported that 19-month-old Fatimah al-Masri died from a cardiological condition after repeated applications to the Israeli authorities for permission to exit Gaza for essential medical treatment in a hospital in East Jerusalem were unsuccessful, remaining “under review” for months. A few months later, in August, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights reported that a six-year-old child, Farouq Mohammed Abu Naja, with a developmental regression condition, died after he was twice denied access to medical care at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child protects the fundamental rights to life and to health. However, these basic rights are being systematically violated in Gaza, with recurring documented examples of children being effectively deprived of access to urgent medical care, with grave consequences, due to Israel’s implementation of its closure policy.

At the end of May, B’Tselem reported that three sisters, aged 10, 15 and 21 were still waiting to be allowed to exit Gaza for medical treatment, following repeated delays and denials of permission to leave. The report states that the sisters have conditions that cause irreversible kidney damage and that going without medical treatment is dangerous. As the healthcare system in Gaza cannot provide the medical treatment they need, the sisters have to travel to hospitals in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) to receive it.

Since August 2021, the two elder sisters have been referred for treatment at hospitals in East Jerusalem. They repeatedly applied to the Israeli authorities for permits but have not received them. In 2022, the youngest sister applied for a permit for an appointment at an East Jerusalem hospital. The first request for a permit in her name went unanswered. Following the second request, she was informed that she would be permitted to enter Israel, but her mother would not be allowed to go with her. The nature of the condition precludes travel alone.

These deeply tragic cases are emblematic of the grave consequences that foreseeably ensue when a policy is implemented to severely deprive fundamental rights on a widespread basis. The closure of Gaza must end.

[PDF version available here]

Key incidents outlined in this LPHR Child Rights Bulletin covering 16 November 2021 – 10 January 2022:

• Two children died from fatal shot wounds, bringing the total number of Palestinian children shot and killed by Israeli forces or civilians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during 2021 to 17.

• A seven-year-old boy was filmed on video being detained by Israeli soldiers on the pretext that he had thrown stones at soldiers.

• 90 children were displaced by the demolition of their homes in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. JCB heavy machinery vehicles are documented on video by B’Tselem in two of these demolition incidents impacting children. Please see LPHR’s public statement dated 12 November 2021 on the important outcome of its OECD complaint against JCB.

• The total number of Palestinian child fatalities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, reported in LPHR Child Rights Bulletins in 2021 is 90, making 2021 the deadliest year on record for Palestinian children since 2014.

The key incidents and statistics outlined in this bulletin span a range of violation categories: ‘Fatalities’, ‘Injuries’, ‘Settler Violence’, ‘Arrests and Detention’, ‘Interference against Education’, ‘Displacement and Demolitions’. They are collated from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) and local human rights organisations: Defence for Children International-Palestine (DCIP), Yesh Din, Military Court Watch (MCW) and B’Tselem.

This bulletin outlines the specific rights of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) that apply to the key incidents affecting Palestinian children in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). As the occupying power, Israel has legal responsibilities under international conventions, including the UNCRC, for the safety, welfare, and human rights protection of civilians living in the oPt. This bulletin concludes with a Further Reading section.

For all our previous bulletins, please visit the Children’s Rights Project page of LPHR’s website.

LPHR gives special thanks to Pankhuuri Srivastavva, Romy Gaisbichler, Bea Cameron and Matilde Castoldi for their excellent work preparing this bulletin.

FATALITIES

Data collected by UN OCHA records that an Israeli armed civilian and a private security guard shot and killed two Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the reporting period of 16 November – 10 January 2022. This brings the total number of Palestinian child fatalities reported in LPHR Child Rights Bulletins in 2021 to 90, making 2021 the deadliest year on record for Palestinian children since 2014.

• DCIP reports that on 17 November, 16-year-old Omar Ibrahim Ayoub Abu Assab was shot and killed after he allegedly stabbed and injured two Israeli paramilitary border police officers in occupied East Jerusalem. An armed Israeli civilian shot Omar multiple times as he seemingly struggled with an Israeli border police officer, according to DCIP’s investigation. Eyewitnesses told DCIP that the armed civilian fired at least six shots at Omar. Omar’s body remains in Israeli custody.

• DCIP reports that on 6 December, 15-year-old Mohammad Nidal Younis Mousa was shot by an Israeli private security guard after he reportedly drove his car into a group of private security guards staffing Jabara military checkpoint (south of Tulkarem) injuring one Israeli guard. Mohammad succumbed to his wounds several hours after being shot. DCIP notes that Mohammad is the 17th Palestinian child shot and killed by Israeli forces or civilians in the occupied West Bank during 2021.

Article 6(1) of the UNCRC provides that every child has the inherent right to life. Under international law, lethal application of force can only be used as a last resort when there is a direct and imminent threat to life or serious injury. Israeli forces have been documented to consistently apply lethal application of force where there is lack of evidence to suggest any direct and imminent threat to life. Violations of this legal requirement resulting in an unlawful extrajudicial killing should entail individual criminal responsibility. Indeed, part of providing meaningful protection under the UNCRC involves investigation of, and accountability for, child deaths caused by unlawful application of force. To fulfil its obligations under international law, it is necessary that the Government of Israel thoroughly and transparently investigate the circumstances of the above-mentioned fatal shootings and ensure legal accountability and justice is delivered where there is criminal wrongdoing. However, there is strong evidence indicating that Israel is systemically failing to provide genuine accountability for child deaths, with data collected by the Israeli human rights organisations, B’Tselem and Yesh Din, clearly demonstrating that Israeli soldiers who harm or kill Palestinians are very rarely indicted.

Israel’s policy of withholding bodies of Palestinians, including children, who have been killed by Israeli forces, appears to amount to collective punishment against families, which is prohibited under international humanitarian law. It also may constitute cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of the families of the deceased, a violation of international human rights law, including Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, because of the mental distress it inflicts on the family.

INJURIES

Data collected by UN OCHA records that at least 380 Palestinian children (363 boys and 17 girls) were injured by Israeli forces during the reporting period. These injuries were caused by tear gas inhalation, rubber bullets (all types), live ammunition, physical assault, surface launched explosive weapons, tear gas canisters (hit by) and other unspecified weapons. Data collected by UN OCHA states that in total in 2021, at least 1822 children have been injured by Israeli forces (1517 boys and 305 girls).

Injury incidents from 16 November 2021 – 10 January 2022 include:

• UN OCHA reports that between 16 November- 6 December, 441 Palestinians, including 97 children, were injured by Israeli forces across the West Bank. Most injuries occurred during clashes in the weekly demonstrations against settlement activity.

• UN OCHA reports that between 7 – 20 December, 109 children were injured by Israeli forces during protests and clashes that occurred during search-and-arrest operations across the West Bank. The majority of injuries were reported in three separate incidents in Burqa and Beita, where 80 children were injured in clashes that erupted with Israeli forces following the entry of Israeli settlers into Palestinian villages.

• UN OCHA reports that in the Gaza Strip, on 29 December, a Palestinian child was injured when Israeli forces fired tank shells at Gaza in response to a Palestinian armed group member shooting and injuring an Israeli man working on the Israeli side of the perimeter fence.

• UN OCHA reports that between 21 December – 10 January, 177 children were injured by Israeli forces across the West Bank. Most injuries occurred during five incidents in Burqa, Sabastiya and Deir Sharaf (Nablus), where 124 children were injured by Israeli forces, following stone-throwing between Palestinian residents and Israeli settlers after Israeli settlers raided and attacked Palestinian communities.

Article 3(2) of the UNCRC provides that states shall ensure children the protection and care necessary for their well-being. The hundreds of children injured by Israeli forces prima facie violates both the letter and the spirit of Article 3(2).

Article 3(2) should be read with Article 3(1), which provides that “in taking appropriate legislative and administrative measures States Parties must place the best interests of the child as a primary consideration”. Even if assuming that the use of the force by Israeli forces during the above-mentioned protests against settlements was an ‘appropriate measure’, it clearly appears to have failed to recognise the potential presence of children and accordingly apply measures to ensure their sufficient protection.

SETTLER VIOLENCE

Settler violence directed at Palestinians continued during the reporting period. One child was injured by Israeli settlers during the period 16 November 2021- 10 January 2022. Data collected by UN OCHA records that 30 Palestinian children were injured by Israeli settlers during 2021. Of these, eight injuries were caused by physical assault and three by live ammunition.

Settler-related injury incidents between 16 November 2021 – 10 January 2022 include:

• UN OCHA reports that during 16 November – 6 December, a child was injured during stone throwing by Israeli settlers at Palestinian vehicles and houses in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron areas.

Article 3(2) of the UNCRC provides that states should ensure the protection and care of children, as is necessary for their wellbeing. The ongoing violent attacks on children by Israeli settlers strongly indicates that Israel is in breach of Article 3(2). The Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din reports that incidents of violence by Israeli civilians against Palestinians and their property are a daily occurrence throughout the West Bank and that these incidents are rarely investigated properly by Israeli law enforcement. Moreover, only 3% of the investigations into complaints filed by Palestinians injured by settlers lead to convictions.

The low rate of investigations into attacks by Israeli settlers suggests that Israel is in violation of its obligations under Article 39 of the UNCRC, which stipulates that states should take all appropriate measures to promote the physical and psychological recovery of a child victim of abuse, and that such recovery should take place in an environment which fosters the health, self-respect and dignity of the child.

ARRESTS AND DETENTION

Between 16 November 2021 – 10 January 2022, UN OCHA reports that Israeli forces conducted 300 search-and-arrest operations across the West Bank, arresting 438 Palestinians, including an unknown number of children. Search and arrest operations regularly see soldiers raiding family homes, often at night, causing terror and disruption. As of 31 December 2021, Military Court Watch reports that there are 145 Palestinian children (12 – 17 years old) being held in Israeli military detention facilities.

Five of these children are held in administrative detention, meaning they are being detained without charge or trial based on secret evidence.

The majority of child detainees were forcibly transferred to and or unlawfully detained inside Israel. It is a grave breach of international humanitarian law to transfer detainees outside of occupied territory. MCW reports that, as of 6 December 2021, only 20% of child detainees have access to a lawyer prior to or during interrogation and 72% are subject to physical abuse. MCW reports a dramatic increase in the number of children held in solitary confinement. For details, please see our Further Reading section at the foot of this bulletin

Arrest and detention incidents in the reporting period include:

• UN OCHA reports that during the fortnight 16 November – 6 December 2021, three people, including a child, were arrested while reportedly trying to cross into Israel from Gaza via the perimeter fence.

• B’Tselem reports that in Hebron on 16 December, a seven-year-old boy was detained by Israeli soldiers on the pretext that he had thrown stones at soldiers. The boy had been on his way home from the library. About an hour later, on his way home, he came across Palestinian children who were throwing stones at soldiers. The soldiers chased after the children, who ran towards the seven-year-old boy. He panicked and ran into a store. One of the soldiers entered the store, grabbed him by the shirt collar and led him outside screaming and crying. His mother heard the commotion and ran outside and freed him from their grasp.

  Video of this child detention incident shows that neighbours and passers-by joined in and tried to persuade the soldiers to let the child go, but the soldiers pushed them and refused to release him. After some time, the soldiers explained to a Hebrew-speaking neighbour that they demanded the child identify the children who had thrown stones. They showed him photographs of children and demanded he lead them to their homes. When the child replied that he did not know them, one of the soldiers ordered him to stand with his back to the wall and photographed him. The soldier then called his commanding officer, who spoke with the child’s mother and informed her that the child would be released but would be arrested next time.

• UNICEF reports that 17-year-old Palestinian refugee Amal Nakhleh, who has been held in administrative detention since January 2021, remains detained. The details of the charges against him were not disclosed to either Amal or his family, who have simply been informed it is a “confidential administrative case”. Amal suffers from poor health, having been diagnosed with a severe autoimmune disease at birth. His condition requires ongoing treatment and regular monitoring. Prior to his detention, Amal underwent cancer surgery. His condition means that he cannot be vaccinated against Covid-19. Amal must also take immune-suppressants and so is particularly high risk if he contracts Covid-19. Conditions in Israeli military prisons are not conducive either to adequate healthcare or to protection against Covid-19. LPHR’s urgent action letter submitted to the UK government on this case can be read here.

Article 3(1) of the UNCRC obliges states to ensure that: ‘In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration’. Further, Article 37(b) of the UNCRC states that no child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily and that it shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.

Article 37(a) of the UNCRC states that no child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 19 of the UNCRC provides that State Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence while in the care of any person who has the care of the child. In its General Comment No. 8, the Committee on the Rights of the Child indicated that “There is no ambiguity: ‘all forms of physical or mental violence’ does not leave room for any level of legalized violence against children” The use of solitary confinement for children in detention is a clear breach of Article 37(a) and Article 19 of the UNCRC.

INTERFERENCE AGAINST EDUCATION

Infringements on education in the reporting period of 16 November 2021 – 10 January 2022 include:

• UN OCHA reports that between 16 November- 6 December, 18 pupils were tear gassed or physically assaulted and injured by Israeli forces in seven incidents affecting schools in Al Lubban ash Sharqiya (Nablus) and in the H2 area of Hebron City. In H2, Palestinian students reportedly threw stones at Israeli forces and the latter shot tear gas canisters at a nearby school compound; 15 girls were treated for teargas inhalation and students from the nearby three schools were evacuated due to the intensity of the gas. In five incidents in Al Lubban ash Sharqiya, three school students were injured and about 70 others inhaled teargas, after Israeli forces fired teargas canisters and sound bombs at students, disrupting classes. These five incidents occurred after Israeli settlers gathered near the school protesting that they had been hit by stones thrown from the school premises.

• UN OCHA reports that on 29 December, Israeli forces physically assaulted and injured a teacher while staff were trying to prevent them from entering a high school in Tuqu’ (Bethlehem).

• UN OCHA reports that on 10 January, a student was shot and arrested along with four other students in Birzeit University (Ramallah). LPHR’s urgent action letter submitted to the UK government on this case can be read here.

Article 28 of the UNCRC stipulates that education should be accessible to all children on the basis of equal opportunity, obliging Israel to ensure that children in the oPt have unrestricted access to education. The abovementioned interferences with education appear to clearly breach both the spirit and the letter of Article 28.

DEMOLITIONS & DISPLACEMENT

Demolitions and displacement remain a matter of huge concern. Data collected by UN OCHA records that 208 people, including 90 children (49 girls and 41 boys) were displaced by the demolition of 36 inhabited residential structures. Altogether during the reporting period, 146 structures were demolished.

Incidents of demolitions and displacement during the reporting period include:

• B’Tselem reports that on 17 November, a family of eight, including six children, was forced to self-demolish a house it had begun building in the neighbourhood of a-Shayah on Olive Mount in East Jerusalem, after a demolition order was issued.

• B’Tselem reports that on 23 November, 15 children lost their homes after Israeli forces demolished and confiscated multiple dwellings. Demolitions included a two-storey building housing a family of five, including three children. The building was in the neighbourhood of Wadi al-Hummus, the eastern extension of Zur Baher, in East Jerusalem.

• B’Tselem reports that on 30 November, Israeli forces demolished the home of a family of five, including three children, in the neighbourhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem.

• B’Tselem reports that on 2 December, in Khirbet al-Markaz in the area of Masafer Yatta, in the South Hebron Hills, Israeli forces demolished four tin-roofed stone structures, which housed four families, including six children. A JCB heavy machinery vehicle is shown on video to be materially used at the demolition scene. Please see LPHR’s public statement dated 12 November 2021 on the important outcome of its OECD complaint against JCB.

• B’Tselem reports that on 3 December, a family of five, including three children, was forced to self-demolish its own home, which was still under construction, in the neighbourhood of Jabal al-Mukabber after receiving a demolition order.

• B’Tselem reports that on 4 December, a family of five, including three children, was forced to self-demolish its home in the neighbourhood of Beit Hanina after receiving a demolition order.

• B’Tselem reports that on 6 December, a family of six, including four children, was forced to self-demolish its own home in the neighbourhood of Silwan after receiving a demolition order.

• B’Tselem reports that on 14 December, Israeli forces demolished the home of a family of 11, including five children, in the neighbourhood of Jabal al-Mukabber. On the same day, in the neighbourhood of Silwan, three families (including 11 children) were forced to demolish their own homes following a demolition order.

• UN OCHA reports that, as of 20 December, a Palestinian refugee family of 11 people, including four children, is at heightened risk of forced eviction from its home in the Um Haroun area of Sheikh Jarrah area of East Jerusalem. According to the family, they have lived there since 1951. In East Jerusalem, a total of 218 Palestinian households comprising 970 people, including 424 children, are facing forced eviction cases, mainly initiated by settler organisations.

• B’Tselem reports that on 21 December, a family of six, including three children, was forced to self-demolish its own home in the neighbourhood of Jabal al-Mukabber. A JCB heavy machinery vehicle is shown on video to be materially used at the demolition scene. Please see LPHR’s public statement dated 12 November 2021 on the important outcome of its OECD complaint against JCB.

• B’Tselem reports that on 28 December, in Khirbet Ibzik, Israeli forces dismantled and confiscated three residential tents belonging to three families (including six children) as well as eight tents used as livestock enclosures, two water tanks and two solar panels.

• B’Tselem reports that on 28 December, a family of eight, including five children, was forced to self-demolish its own home in the neighbourhood of Um Laysun.

• UN OCHA reports that between 21 December 2021- 10 January 2022, the Israeli authorities demolished, seized, or forced owners to demolish, 63 Palestinian-owned structures, citing lack of Israeli-issued building permits. As a result, 35 children were displaced. 19 structures, including seven residential shelters, had been provided as humanitarian assistance in response to previous demolitions.

• UN OCHA reports that between 27 December 2021- 2 January 2022, at least six Palestinian families were forced to evacuate their homes for most of the day to make way for Israeli military trainings in the Ibziq area of the Jordan Valley. 38 people, including 17 children were affected. B’Tselem reports that on five occasions in December, the military evacuated families from Khirbet Ibzik on the pretext that it needs to hold training by the community’s homes.

Article 27 of the UNCRC protects children’s right to a standard of living and seeks to ensure that this standard is adequate with respect to the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. The UNCRC further adds that State Parties are responsible for taking appropriate measures to provide assistance in respect to nutrition, clothing and housing. The actions of the Government of Israel in rendering children and their parents homeless and disrupting families’ livelihoods through demolitions of homes and the destruction of water pipelines, clearly violates both the letter and the spirit of the UNCRC.

Article 18(2) of the UNCRC obliges State Parties to give appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in the performance of their child-rearing responsibilities. Demolitions and subsequent forced displacement violate this right as it harms parents and legal guardians’ ability to fulfil their responsibilities of looking after and providing shelter for their children.

Article 16(1) of the UNCRC protects children’s rights to not be subject to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family and home and Article 16(2) entitles children to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. Demolitions affect this right as it physically displaces children from their family homes without first giving them access to a legal system through which they could challenge such actions.

Further Reading

Marked surge in the number of Palestinian children held in solitary confinement

On 7 December 2021, MCW published a report titled ‘Solitary Confinement’, reporting that the percentage of Palestinian child detainees being held in solitary confinement while held in Israeli military detention has risen from a historical average of less than 4% to nearly 20% between January 2019 and May 2021. The report estimates that between 100 to 200 children are now being held in solitary confinement by Israel’s military authorities each year.

The report documents the adverse psychological and physical impacts of solitary confinement for an average of 10.5 days on children, including weight loss, self-harm, and attempted suicide. The then UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Mendez, determined that the imposition of solitary confinement of any duration against a child would constitute cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in violation of Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 16 of the Convention against Torture.