Jan 23, 2009

Ramallah – Ma’an – Seven children have been seized from their homes in the village of Toura Al-Gharbiyah, near Jenin, the organization Defense for Children International (DCI) reports.

The children are currently detained in Salim detention center in the north of the West Bank. Two of the children are only 12 years old; two are 13; another two are aged 15; and the seventh is 17.

A DCI lawyer who visited the children said that after the children were pulled from their homes at 4am on Tuesday, Israeli intelligence, police and army held the children in a public building in the village, and interrogated them.

They were alleged to have thrown stones at the Israeli separation wall and were intimidated into confessing, according to DCI.

The eldest, Murad, 17, was accused of possessing weapons, but he denied the allegation. Murad told the DCI-Palestine lawyer what happened on Tuesday morning.

The following account of Murad’s detention was assembled by DCI lawyers:

Shortly after midnight, Murad was watching television at home when he heard noise outside. He got up to look through the window and saw four jeeps belonging to the Israeli police guards.

Less than a minute later, someone knocked and Murad opened the door. An Israeli police officer, accompanied by two soldiers, asked Murad his name and told him "Do not try to escape, the house is surrounded." He asked him to wake up other family members.

After the rest of the family was up, the soldiers took Murad outside, laid him on the ground, tied his hands behind his back with plastic cords, and blindfolded him. Murad lay on the ground for half an hour while the soldiers searched the house. Then, they walked him to the military jeep. While they were walking, a soldier started beating him on the face and hands. Murad reported that one of his fingers started to swell as a result of the beating.

They shoved him into the jeep, and drove for 20 minutes. Then Murad was taken out of the jeep and brought to a billiards room. He was still in the village. His blindfold was removed and an interrogator told him that they had found weapons in his house. He pressured Murad to confess to owning them; all the while screaming at him and threatening him. The interrogation went on for 40 minutes. Murad did not confess.

When the interrogation was over, Murad was blindfolded again, and left in the room until 9:00am. During that time, he heard the voices of other young detainees, including his brother Bashir, 15. Some of the children were crying.

At 9:00am Murad was transferred to Salim detention and interrogation centre. During the journey, a soldier was sitting beside him shouting at him and insulting him; he felt scared.

The children were identified as:

Morad Q, 17
Bashir Q, 15
Osaid Q, 12
Subhi A H, 12
Amer Q, 13
Mohammad A, 13
Emad A, 15

At the end of December 2008, there were 342 Palestinian children held in Israeli prisons and detention/interrogation centers, including seven girls, and five administrative detainees.