Child detentions highlight the cruelty of the Israeli occupation
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Hashim Sheikh
- . July 28, 2022
- . Update: July 28, 2022 4:02 pm
Palestine– Child detentions highlight the harshness and cruelty of Israel’s occupation and blockade of Palestinian lands and people. All cases of the detention of children in Israel are a cause of deep worry. In March, 194 Palestinian children were detained by the Israeli authorities in prisons and detention centres.
According to the new data published by Physicians for Human Rights, Israel doesn’t even allow Palestinian children to leave the besieged Gaza Strip to access health treatment.
Last week, a group of United Nations (UN) human rights experts urged the Israeli government to release Ahmad Manasra, a 20-year-old Palestinian who was brought into Israeli prisons since he was 14. The call highlighted the cruelty of the Israeli occupation. Arresting Palestinian children as young as 12 is an act of violence.
UN experts said in their press release that Manasra’s case is disturbing because he has been detained for a long time in the detention centre and suffers from serious mental health issues. The UN said, “Ahmad’s imprisonment for almost six years has deprived him of childhood, family environment, protection and all the rights he should have been guaranteed as a child.”
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Amnesty International claimed in a report that Manasra has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and is suffering from depression. Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder in which people tend to interpret reality abnormally. These types of children require coordinated speciality care services. However, Israeli authorities have kept Manasra in the detention centre.
Reportedly, there are between 150 and 200 Palestinian children held by Israeli authorities in detention centres and prisons. Most of the children have not been convicted of any wrongdoing, but are being held in pre-trial detention.
According to Arab News, Israeli authorities arrested 13-year-old Manasra and his 15-year-old cousin Hassan Khalid Manasra in 2015 in relation to the stabbing of two Israeli citizens in East Jerusalem. This case highlights the weakness of Israel’s society and the cruelty of Israeli authorities.
