Jerusalem, ALRAY - The Israeli occupation has detained more than 50,000 Palestinian children since 1967, according to the Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission.
Of them, nearly 20,000 Palestinian children have been detained since the 2000 Second Intifada and 9,000 since the 2015 Al-Quds Intidafa, the commission said in a press statement issued Sunday, which marked the World Children's Day.
The number of Palestinian children detained since 1967 comprises about 20 per cent of the total number of Palestinians who have been detained by the Israeli occupation since then.
So far in 2022, the Israeli occupation authorities detained approximately 770 Palestinian children, mostly from occupied Jerusalem.
The Israeli occupation is holding around 160 Palestinian children in its prisons, including three girls being held in "Damon" jail.
The commission pointed out that four of the detained children are being held without charge or trial.
According to the commission, most children were detained by Israeli occupation forces during nightly raids on their homes, while some were detained on the streets or on their way to or from school.
The commission explained that Palestinian children are being held in harsh conditions and are subjected to various forms of physical and psychological torture and ill-treatment.
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation courts do not take into account the circumstances in which Palestinian children make or sign confessions of their alleged actions.
The Israeli courts have issued hundreds of orders banning Palestinian children from accessing Jerusalem or placing them under house arrest, causing social and psychological problems for them and their families.
During their incarceration by the Israeli occupation authorities, Palestinian children are denied their most basic humanitarian rights guaranteed by international conventions and norms.
The commission warned against the continued targeting of Palestinian children by the Israeli occupation and the negative implications of detention and torture on them.
The Commission called on the UN International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and all international groups advocating children's rights to immediately work on protecting Palestinian children and releasing all detained children from Israeli occupation prisons.
