Raids, Detention, Brutal Attacks Keep Palestinians On Edge
Some are still languishing behind the bars, devoid of any form of communication or education, and are subjected to systematic abuse on a daily basis.
Palestinian families are exposed to arbitrary home raids, detention, and brutal attacks. Detainees are often charged with assaulting police officers. Even minors under the age of 18 are arrested and allegedly charged with stone-pelting, which as per Israeli law is “a punishable offense” with a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
According to the statistics collected from Israel Prison Service (IPS) by B’tselem, last year there were 4,291 Palestinian security detainees and prisoners in IPF and IDF prisons. IPS didn’t provide all the details regarding the inmates’ legal standing. IPS has stopped providing figures with B’tselem since October 2020.
Israel is the only country in the world to prosecute minors in military courts. Every year around 500-700 children are detained. Some of them are still languishing behind the bars, barricaded from communication and education, and are subjected to sadistic forms of abuse. This is a flagrant violation of children’s rights.
Dylan Williams, former US Senate Staffer and Senior Vice President of the advocacy group J Street, once tweeted: “Harassment of young Palestinian children by Israeli settlers and their frequent arrest and detention by Israeli forces comprises a pattern of international law violations — and may also constitute repeated violations of US law to the extent US-sourced military equipment is used.”
This pandemic has exacerbated the situation of detainees. According to the reports, they’re kept in dark rooms without windows and toilets without doors. Detainees are deprived of sanitary products. Prosecuted children are at high risk.
Palestinians who took part in the uprising were arrested on charges ranging from attacks on the police to vandalism to online incitement. Some of them are still under detention. But all the arrested Jewish assailants were released shortly. Undercover operations are held in an attempt to shore up the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Journalists and activists who have been at the forefront of the fight against the forced expulsion of Palestinian families are subjected to brutal arrest.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Commission, about 1,000,000 Palestinians have been arrested since 1969, including 17,000 cases of women and girls. More than 50,000 children under the age of 18 have been arrested. Around 226 prisoners have been killed — by torture, medical negligence, premeditated murder, and some were hit by the fatal bullets. Hundreds of prisoners died shortly after the release because of the disease they inherited from prison as a result of ill-treatment.
Journalism is stifled by Israeli occupation forces. They are continuing systematic attacks against Journalists covering the news of the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes. No ceasefire can blow peace and harmony for Palestinians living in the besieged land. Journalists and media are targeted, in an attempt to gag the brutality and truth. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns Israel’s disproportionate use of force against journalists.
Israel forces assaulted and brutally arrested Al Jazeera’s journalist Givara Budeiri while she was reporting on a sit-in marking the 54th anniversary of the Naksa (setback) — refers to the Israeli invasion and occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip. The camera equipment belonging to Nabil Mazzawi was smashed and destroyed. The video flooding on social media shows a hand covering the camera — in an attempt to prevent the capture.
She was later released on the condition that she does not go to Sheikh Jarrah for 15 days. “They came from everywhere, I don’t know why, they kicked me to the wall. They kicked me inside the car in a very bad way. They were kicking me from everywhere,” she told Al Jazeera after the release.
In the 22nd edition of Silencing the Press series issued by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, they documented an increase in attacks on journalists which include violation of the right to life and bodily integrity; violence against journalists, including physical and verbal assault, and degrading and humiliating treatment; detention and arrest; restrictions on the freedom of movement, including banning journalists’ access to certain areas and from covering events; and banning journalists from travel outside the occupied Palestinian territory; media institutions and offices raided, destroyed and shut; bombardment and destruction of media offices; and the print ban on newspapers.
No ceasefire can stop the surge in Palestinian detainees. No ceasefire can stop the escalation of Israel’s attacks against Palestinians. It has only pacified the global tension that was triggered due to the 11-day ordeal.
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