Israel 'Putting children in jail'
In February, 236 Palestinian minors were incarcerated - 39 of them aged 12 to 15 - reports rights group Defence of Children International.
Each year for the past ten years, 700 children aged 12 to 17, most of them boys, are arrested by Israel - an average of two per day - estimates the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in a report published earlier this year.
UNICEF concludes that ill-treatment of imprisoned children "appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalised" throughout the process, from arrest to interrogation, prosecution, eventual conviction and condemnation.
Its report points to practices that "amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention against Torture" ratified by Israel.
"These stones can cause death," maintains Israeli Foreign Ministry deputy spokesperson Ilana Stein. "But putting children in jail isn't something we like."
The report's 38 recommendations for improving the rightful protection of Palestinian children are being studied, according to Stein. "We actually worked on the report with UNICEF because we want to improve the treatment of detained Palestinian children," Stein pledges.
"Such Israeli reaction is good," commented ‘Adli Da'ana, education officer with UNICEF in Hebron. "But on March 20, they grabbed 27 kids in the Old City of Hebron, just like that, in one fell swoop. So is this what they call re-considering their policy?
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