Connect with us

World

Why are there so many Palestinian children in Israeli prisons?

Published

on

Why are there so many Palestinian children in Israeli prisons?

At least 23 Palestinian child prisoners have been released by Israel as part of the ceasefire deal, bringing into focus Israel’s systematic prosecution of Palestinian children in military courts.

At least 290 Palestinian prisoners have been released in two batches since the Hamas-Israel ceasefire came into effect on January 19, ending 15 months of nonstop Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

According to Adameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, a rights group based in the occupied West Bank, 320 children were being held in Israeli prisons before the latest prisoner exchanges.

So, what do we know about Palestinian child prisoners and why are they tried in military courts?

(Al Jazeera)

What do we know about Palestinian child prisoners in Israel?

In 2016, Israel introduced a new law allowing children between the ages of 12 and 14 to be held criminally responsible, meaning they could be tried in court as adults and be given prison sentences. Previously, only those 14 or older could be sentenced to prison. Prison sentences cannot begin until the child reaches the age of 14, however [PDF].

Advertisement

This new law, which was passed on August 2, 2016 by the Israeli Knesset, enables Israeli authorities “to imprison a minor convicted of serious crimes such as murder, attempted murder or manslaughter even if he or she is under the age of 14”, according to a Knesset statement at the time the law was introduced.

This change was made after Ahmed Manasra was arrested in 2015 in occupied East Jerusalem at the age of 13. He was charged with attempted murder and sentenced to 12 years in prison after the new law had come into effect and, crucially, after his 14th birthday. Later, his sentence was commuted to nine years on appeal.

An estimated 10,000 Palestinian children have been held in Israeli military detention over the past 20 years, according to the NGO Save the Children.

Reasons for the arrest of children range from stone-throwing to participation in a gathering of merely 10 people without a permit, on any issue “that could be construed as political”.

Under what law are children detained by Israel?

Controversially, Palestinian prisoners are tried and sentenced in military rather than civil courts.

Advertisement

International law permits Israel to use military courts in the territory that it occupies.

A dual legal system exists in Palestine, under which Israeli settlers living in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are subject to Israeli civil law while Palestinians are subject to Israeli military law in courts run by Israeli soldiers and officers.

This means that a large number of Palestinians are imprisoned without basic due process.

“Israeli authorities, however, regularly arrest Palestinian children during nighttime raids, interrogate them without a guardian present, hold them for longer periods before bringing them before a judge and hold those as young as 12 in lengthy pretrial detention,” Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, wrote in November 2023.

Nearly three-quarters of Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank were kept in custody until the end of proceedings, compared with less than 20 percent for Israeli children, according to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel’s report from 2017.

Advertisement

HaMoked, a human rights NGO assisting Palestinians subjected to human rights violations under the Israeli occupation, said minors being held in prisons were allowed a 10-minute phone call to their families once every two weeks during 2020.

How many Palestinian prisoners released so far as part of the Israel-Hamas deal are children?

Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners, 120 of them serving life sentences, from its jails on Saturday as part of the ceasefire deal.

Two of them were children, both 15 years old. The oldest prisoner, Muhammad al-Tous, was 69. He had spent 39 years in jail, having first been arrested in 1985 while fighting Israeli forces.

The swap on Saturday was the second exchange since a ceasefire came into effect on January 19. Three Israeli captives and 90 Palestinian prisoners (69 women and 21 children) were released in the first swap.

Advertisement

Only eight of the 90 prisoners were arrested before October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led Palestinian groups carried out attacks in southern Israel. The attacks killed more than 1,100 people, saw about 250 taken captive and triggered Israel’s devastating war on Gaza.

Some Palestinian prisoners have been held in Israeli prisons for more than three decades.

Prominent Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti – who was the co-founder of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, also known as Fatah, the party that governs the West Bank – has been in prison for 22 years.

Tamer Qarmout, an associate professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera that the release of Palestinian prisoners is a “huge relief” for families, although it is happening under the “horrible realities of [the Israeli] occupation”.

Advertisement

“These prisoners should have been released through a bigger deal that ends the conflict, that brings peace through negotiations, through ending occupation, but the harsh reality in Palestine is that as we talk, occupation continues,” Qarmout told Al Jazeera.

How many Palestinians are in Israeli prisons? Have they faced abuse while in custody?

As of Sunday, about 10,400 Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank were in Israeli captivity, according to estimates from Addameer.

In the occupied Palestinian territory, one in every five Palestinians has been arrested and charged at some point. This rate is twice as high for Palestinian men as it is for women – two in every five men have been arrested and charged.

There are 19 prisons in Israel and one inside the occupied West Bank that hold Palestinian prisoners. Israel stopped allowing independent humanitarian organisations to visit Israeli prisons in October, so it is hard to know the numbers and conditions of people being held there.

Palestinian prisoners who have been released have reported being beaten, tortured and humiliated before and after the start of the war on Gaza on October 7.

Advertisement

How many Palestinian prisoners are being held without charge?

About 3,376 Palestinians being held in Israel are under administrative detention, according to Addameer. An administrative detainee is someone held in prison without charge or trial.

Neither the administrative detainees, who include women and children, nor their lawyers are allowed to see the “secret evidence” that Israeli forces say forms the basis for their arrests. This practice has been in place against Palestinian detainees since the establishment of Israel in 1948.

These people have been arrested by the military for renewable periods of time, meaning the arrest duration is indefinite and could last for many years.

The administrative detainees include 41 children and 12 women, according to Addameer.

INTERACTIVE - Administrative detainees in Israeli prisons JAN 2025 copy-1737461172
(Al Jazeera)

What’s next?

Twenty-six other captives should be released in the ceasefire’s six-week first phase, along with hundreds more Palestinian prisoners. The next exchange is next Saturday.

Many hope the next phase will end the war that has displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and left hundreds of thousands at risk of famine. Talks start on February 3.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

World

‘Criminal Minds’ Star Paget Brewster Tells TV Journalist to ‘Work at a Shelter’ After Mixed Review, Sparking Outrage From Other Critics

Published

on

‘Criminal Minds’ Star Paget Brewster Tells TV Journalist to ‘Work at a Shelter’ After Mixed Review, Sparking Outrage From Other Critics

“Criminal Minds” star Paget Brewster lashed out at ScreenRant staffer Shealyn Scott over X on Saturday afternoon for her story lamenting the changes Paramount+ has brought to the long-running procedural drama.

“Hello critic Shealynn Scott,” Brewster wrote in the since-deleted post. “You’re young. You don’t know that bad pics and bad reviews can lead to 350 people losing their jobs. Sell vintage. Work at a shelter. Do something better than what you do now. Because right now you suck.”

Film and TV critics were quick to hit back in the replies. David Rooney, chief film critic at The Hollywood Reporter, wrote in his response to Brewster, “This is a very bad look. An actor on a long-running show attacking a young reviewer who contextualizes her respectful criticisms with obvious knowledge of the material — says way more about u being thin-skinned than it does about her professionalism. ‘Work at a shelter,’ really?!”

Senior ScreenRant writer Andy Behbakht also came to the defense of Scott, writing, “This is disgusting behavior on your part, and really tragic to see you tearing down a young female journalist whom you are literally telling that she ‘sucks’ and that she shouldn’t be in the field that she is in. I stand by my colleague, and you owe her an apology.”

Brewster released an apology for the post on Sunday. She wrote on X, “Hi guys, I was mean to Shealyn Scott last night and I profoundly regret it. Shame on me for insulting a human being for doing their job. I’m very sorry, Shealyn. And I’m sorry to those who follow me that you saw me behave like that. Turns out, last night, I sucked.”

Advertisement

“Criminal Minds” premiered its 15th and final season on CBS in 2020, and then was revived for Paramount+ in 2022 under the title “Criminal Minds: Evolution.” Scott’s piece discussed the changes “Criminal Minds” underwent when it went from linear to streaming.

“From details as small as a ratings change to TV-MA— which allows David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) and Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) the occasional heated expletive— to new main cast members like Tyler Green (Ryan-James Hatanaka), there’s no doubt that ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ has its own unique identity,” Scott wrote in her story. “Plenty of the continuation’s changes have been received warmly, and ‘Criminal Minds’ unquestionably still works as a gripping crime drama, but there are just as many tweaks that feel more like downgrades— including the new 10-episode season structure. Though logical in theory, the shortened seasons are unfortunately working against ‘Criminal Minds’’ greatest strengths.”

Continue Reading

World

Meloni’s spat with Trump is calculated strategy to boost her approval ratings: expert

Published

on

Meloni’s spat with Trump is calculated strategy to boost her approval ratings: expert

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s escalating feud with President Donald Trump is nothing but a calculated political strategy aimed at boosting her standing at home, a leading Italian political analyst told Fox News Digital on Sunday.

After the row between Trump and Meloni escalated on June 20, analysts also said the Italian leader may see little downside in confronting Trump, particularly as she faces declining approval ratings ahead of Italy’s 2027 general election.

The diplomatic dispute had reached a boiling point after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced June 19 that he was scrapping a trip to Washington, where he had been scheduled to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“Giorgia Meloni must have calculated that a public row with Trump yields no tangible consequences, other than an increase in her domestic and international standing,” Mattia Diletti, a political science lecturer at Sapienza University of Rome, said.

Advertisement

TRUMP SAYS MELONI ‘WANTS TO BE FRIENDS AGAIN’ AFTER ITALY REFUSED TO HELP US AMID IRAN WAR

Giorgia Meloni said President Trump’s statements were “completely made up” and that “neither I nor Italy ever beg.” (Mandel NGAN / POOL / AFP via Getty Images; Bastien Ohier / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images))

Giovanni Orsina, a political scientist at Rome’s Luiss University, also told the Financial Times that the row would offer a “positive image” for Meloni and a “silver lining” to a confrontation she had “desperately tried to avoid.”

The friction between Trump and Meloni intensified after an interview broadcast by Italy’s La7 television network, where the president claimed she had asked for a photograph with him at the G7 summit and that he agreed only out of pity.

“She begged me to take a picture with her,” Trump said. “She wanted a picture with me so badly. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her.”

Advertisement

RUBIO MEETS MELONI AS TRUMP–POPE CLASH CLASH ESCALATES US STRAINS WITH KEY EUROPEAN ALLY

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends her annual press conference in Rome on Jan. 9, 2026, addressing government priorities and policy challenges for the year ahead. (Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)

Meloni fired back, releasing a video statement on X rejecting the president’s narrative.

“I am frankly stunned,” Meloni said in the video message. “I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way toward his own allies. But there’s one thing he must remember: Neither I nor Italy ever beg.”

Trump doubled down on Truth Social and tied the row directly to Meloni’s political fortunes.

Advertisement

“Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G7 meeting in France,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America… when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a nuclear weapon … She wouldn’t even let us use Italy’s landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience … Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up.’ No thanks!!!”

Within hours, Meloni responded on social media: “As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it … My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy’s national interest… In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”

TRUMP ‘RIGHT TO BE OUTRAGED’ BY EUROPE’S BETRAYAL ON IRAN, SAYS FORMER THATCHER ADVISOR

Rubio will travel to Italy on Wednesday for meetings with Pope Leo and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. (Maria Grazia Picciarella/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Advertisement

The back-and-forth marks a reversal for two leaders who once enjoyed a close political alignment.

When Meloni first came to power, she positioned herself as a bridge between Washington and Brussels while pushing ties with Trump based on shared nationalism and stances on immigration.

“Politically, Trump has favored Meloni,” Diletti noted, pointing out that she had previously visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in 2025. She was the only European Union leader to attend his second inauguration.

The cracks also appeared in April when Trump criticized Meloni for siding with Pope Leo XIV’s condemnation of the U.S. conflict with Iran.

On Sunday, Trump also criticized Italy and Giorgia Meloni over their approach to Iran, accusing the NATO ally of failing to help confront Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Advertisement

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“As the 2027 Italian general election approaches, Meloni is facing a decline in approval ratings for the first time,” Diletti explained.

“The opportunity to counter a President so unpopular in Europe and Italy helps bolster her approval ratings and allows her to build European solidarity,” he claimed.

Continue Reading

World

Mourners gather to remember Lebanese conservationist killed by Israel

Published

on

Mourners gather to remember Lebanese conservationist killed by Israel

Renowned turtle conservationist Mona Khalil had been wounded in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon.

Mourners have gathered in Beirut to pay their respects to a much-loved Lebanese conservationist who died from wounds caused by an Israeli strike on her home on the country’s southern coast.

Mona Khalil, 77, who spent more than two decades protecting sea turtles along Lebanon’s coastline, was critically injured in the attack in the village of al-Mansouri in Tyre province on June 4 and succumbed to her wounds more than two weeks later, on Friday.

Recommended Stories

list of 4 itemsend of list

News of her death triggered an outpouring of grief among environmentalists and those who volunteered and worked with her over the years, many of whom gathered in Beirut on Sunday.

Advertisement

The Orange House Project, which Khalil helped build into a small conservation hub and ecotourism site in al-Mansouri, became a refuge for endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles and a training ground for volunteers documenting nesting activity along the coast.

Khalil was born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1949. She held Dutch as well as Lebanese citizenship, having lived in the Netherlands before returning to Lebanon and settling in what had once been her grandmother’s home – the building that would later become known as the Orange House.

At the heart of Khalil’s work was a narrow stretch of coastline, al-Mansouri beach, where a fleeting encounter with a turtle that had emerged from the ocean to lay its eggs in 1999 propelled her on a lifelong journey devoted to animals.

Each nesting season, Khalil and volunteers would patrol the beach at night, marking fresh tracks in the sand and carefully relocating vulnerable nests away from human activity and coastal light pollution.

Journalist and environmental activist Fadia Jomaa first met Khalil in 2016 while researching sea turtles in Lebanon and then decided to volunteer with her project.

Advertisement

During the previous war between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in 2024, Khalil initially refused to leave al-Mansouri beach, Jomaa said. The Lebanese army ultimately persuaded her to evacuate for her safety.

“She was the last one to leave the area,” Jomaa noted.

“She had an awful time in Beirut,” the journalist said, adding that Khalil longed to return to the south, to the Orange House and the beach she had spent years protecting.

“She used to say, ‘My soul will stay here,’” Jomaa said, recalling conversations in which Khalil would point to an olive tree or a small hill overlooking al-Mansouri beach. “She used to say, ‘This is where you will bury me.’”

Where Khalil will ultimately be buried remains uncertain and is tied to the security situation in the area, Jomaa said.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending