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Anything to get arrested

From testimony compiled by Defence for Children International, published in the June report “Palestinian Child Prisoners: The Systematic and Institutionalized Ill-Treatment and Torture of Palestinian Children by Israeli Authorities.” Between 2001 and 2008, more than 600 complaints alleging the mistreatment of children were filed against Israeli interrogators. Last year an estimated 700 Palestinians between the ages of twelve and eighteen were arrested.

A soldier ordered me to stop and said, “I saw you throwing stones.” I replied, “I wasn’t. Look, my left hand is broken and in a cast.” My uncles intervened to persuade the soldier that I did not throw stones and that my hand was broken. About ten other soldiers then got out of the jeep and approached us. Two of the soldiers grabbed me, and the others tried to chase away my uncles. The soldiers beat my broken hand with their rifles. They placed me in a jeep. As soon as the jeep started, a soldier kicked my broken hand and beat my shoulders with his rifle. A short time later, the soldiers tied my hands and feet and blindfolded me, while still beating me. The beating continued for about an hour.

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SEE ALSO: Arab-Israeli conflict; Children and war; Crimes against; Palestine

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