Israeli security forces arrested hundreds of Palestinian citizens of Israel in the last week. One in five of them are children who may face military courts.
Israel is the only country in the world to prosecute children routinely in military courts. These tribunals lack legal checks and balances that could transition into fair trials. The recent detentions will further deteriorate Israel’s human rights record.
Every year Israel prosecutes between 500 and 700 Palestinian children in military courts, including the detainees from Occupied Palestinian territories, according to American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). Most of the detained Palestinian children are typically charged with stone-throwing, which as per Israeli law is a punishable offence with a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
