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Arrest and detention of Palestinian minors by Israel
Arrest and Detention of Palestinian Minors under Israeli Authority From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Detention of minors in Israel primarily refers to the arrest and detention of Palestinian children and teenagers by Israeli security forces in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. This issue has been documented by various human rights organizations, including UNICEF, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and B'Tselem. These organizations report that hundreds of Palestinian minors are arrested each year, often during night raids, and prosecuted in Israeli military courts.[1][2]
Over the past two decades, approximately 10,000 Palestinian children have been held in Israeli military detention facilities.[3] According to reports, Israel prosecutes between 500 and 700 Palestinian children in military courts annually.[4][5]
As of the end of June 2025, the Israel Prison Service (IPS) was holding 359 Palestinian minors in detention or imprisonment for various reasons, in addition to 115 children detained for residing in Israel.[2] The children are held in Megiddo, Tel Mond, and Ramleh. Megiddo is under Israeli military administration, while the other two are managed by the Israel Prison Service.[6]
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Background
The Israeli military operates a separate legal system in the West Bank, where Palestinian minors are subject to military law, while Israeli settlers are governed by the civilian legal system. Under international law, particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Fourth Geneva Convention, detained children are entitled to special protection. Human rights organizations argue that Israel’s practices violate these norms, while Israeli officials assert compliance with both domestic and international legal standards.[7]
International law prohibits the use of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment under any circumstances. This prohibition, enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 37) and the Convention against Torture—both ratified by Israel in 1991—applies equally to all detained minors, regardless of security considerations.[1]
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Arrest and detention of minors
Summarize
Perspective
Most reported arrests occur during night raids in Palestinian towns and villages.[8] Children are frequently taken from their homes and transported to interrogation centers without the presence of their parents or legal counsel.[4]
Credible reports of the ill-treatment of Palestinian minors in Israeli military detention have been documented for many years by international and Israeli lawyers, human rights organizations, and UN treaty bodies such as the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee Against Torture.[1] According to Save the Children, Palestinian children are the only children in the world who are systematically tried in military courts.[9]
According to a Save the Children report published in July 2023 and findings by Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP), Palestinian children detained by Israeli forces have consistently faced severe physical and psychological abuse. Testimonies collected between 2013 and 2018 from 739 detained children indicate that 73% experienced physical violence following arrest, 95% were hand-tied, 86% were blindfolded, and nearly half were detained from their homes in the middle of the night. Many reported verbal abuse, intimidation, and interrogation without a parent or lawyer present. Similarly, Save the Children found that 86% of detained children were beaten, and 69% were subjected to strip searches even before October 7, 2023.[9][7]
According to the UN report, detained Palestinian women and girls have been subjected to various forms of sexual harassment, including being stripped and searched by male Israeli forces. Additionally, at least two cases of rape have been reported.[9]
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Statistics
This table presents the average number of Palestinian children and adolescents aged 12 to 17 detained by Israeli military authorities between 2010 and 2024.[10]
See also
References
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