February registered the highest number of Palestinian children imprisoned and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system since October 2010, reaching a total of 236, a 5.8 percent increase from January. There were 39 children between the ages of 12 and 15, a 25.8 percent increase from January. A total of 141 children (59 percent) were held in detention facilities inside Israel in violation of international humanitarian law. Also, UNICEF recently released a report that highlights the widespread ill-treatment of children under Israeli detention.

As we make our way toward a new year of work for children’s rights, we at DCI-Palestine would like to share our reflections on the year behind us: a year full of major developments not only for our organisation and the specific communities we serve, but also for our larger political, social and economic context.

Israeli soldiers arrested Osama S (pictured right), 16, along with seven other teenagers during a night time raid on the West Bank town of Haris.

Ramallah, 17 March 2013—Israeli soldiers arrested eight Palestinian teenagers from their homes during a predawn raid on the northern West Bank town of Haris, near Salfit, on Friday.

Name: Raed O.

Date of incident: 1 January 2013

Age: 16 years

Location: Qusra, Nablus

Nature of incident: Injury, Soldier violence

On 1 January 2013, a 16-year-old boy from Qusra, Nablus, was struck in the leg by a rubber bullet fired by an Israeli soldier.

14 Israeli and Palestinian human rights organisations today warned of the far-reaching consequences of Israel’s refusal to fully cooperate with the United Nations (UN). On the morning of Israel’s second Universal Periodic Review (UPR), scheduled for Tuesday 29 January, it remains unclear whether it intends to participate.

This lack of transparency will not only mean that Israel avoids rigorous criticism of its violations of international law, but that the entire UPR system will be undermined by the loss of its two fundamental principles: equality and universality.

November 2012 – Overview

This month saw a 9 percent increase in the number of children prosecuted in the Israeli military courts and imprisoned. This represents a 32 percent increase in the number of children held in military detention since December 2011. This month saw no change in the number of young children (12-15 years) being detained, which remained at 21 children.

Since January 2011, DCI has documented 16 cases in which fishing boats containing children have been intercepted by Israeli patrol boats off the coast of Gaza. In 75 percent of cases, the boats were within the fishing limit unilaterally imposed by Israel. In 88 percent of cases, the patrol boats opened fired without prior warning, detaining the crew and taking them to Ashdod port for interrogation. In at least 63 percent of cases, their boats and fishing equipment were confiscated without reason, thereby depriving them of their only source of income.

Ref. No.: 255/2012

In this issue: Girl injured in settler attack in East Jerusalem; boy injured by tear gas canister near Nablus; boy injured by UXO in the north of the West Bank; girl attacked by settlers in Hebron; new Urgent Appeal for the Children of the Sea in Gaza (UA - 3/12); updated Urgent Appeal on Settler Violence (UA – 3/11)