Why Israeli 'security' forces target Palestinian children

Graffiti on the Separation Wall. Photo: Wall in Palestine / via flickr, from Hope Ends Here, see link at bottom

Detained: Testimonies from Palestinian children imprisoned by Israel

‘Detained: Testimonies from Palestinian Children Imprisoned by Israel’ uncovers one of the most painful experiences that Palestinian children endure in the ongoing Israeli occupation. Through interviews with ex-detainees and mothers of minors presently in detention, the project documents their stories and aims to lend a voice to those who are silenced from fear of negative repercussions.

Text and photos by Samar Hazboun, +972
April 19, 2013

Over the past 11 years, according to Defence for Children International, some 7,500 children have been detained in Israeli prisons and detention facilities. Muhammad Daoud Dirbas, at the age of six, was the youngest child to have been detained by Israeli soldiers. Such practices are considered illegal under international law, as are other policies that children are subjected to, such as solitary confinement. I started working on “Detained” about one year ago, because of the lack of visual documentation on the subject. I contacted some human rights organizations, which put me in contact with a few children. Unfortunately, those children refused to be interviewed; having been contacted several times by journalists, they were afraid of repercussions.

I then decided to contact people I knew from Palestinian cities like Nablus and Hebron where child detention is most prevalent. Through these friends, I was able to find and contact additional children. Sadly, it was quite easy to find them since it is such a common phenomenon. In most cases, I found children who suffer from various traumas. Some were not able to talk about what had happened in prison; others burst into tears, and it was sometimes hard for me to hold my own tears back as I was conducting the interviews. Many children agreed to talk to me “off the record”; I thus know their stories but was not able to officially interview them or take their pictures. In some cases, I was able to talk to the parents once the child left the room, and thus obtained more detailed information about how the children were dealing with what had happened to them. In many cases, the children suffer from insomnia, involuntary urination, nightmares, depression, and fear of going out and facing people.

“It is a very humiliating experience for my son. I pray everyday that he forgets about what had happened to him. We avoid talking about it at home because I want him to forget and this is why we prefer not to have journalists in the house,” one mother told me.

All the children I interviewed decided not to take further legal action, out of fear of the repercussions of doing so, and the lack of belief that they will be guaranteed protection. The following photographs and texts present the stories of the children as they and their families told them to me. It was not possible to independently corroborate all of the facts told by the children and their families. These are their stories, in their words. Dates, names and places have been changed in order to protect the children’s identities.

M.K. was accused of belonging to a militant group. He was arrested from his family home and held in prison for 18 months. The youth spent 45 days of the 18 months in solitary confinement with his legs and hands tied together. Various methods of torture were used on him, including sleep deprivation and emotional blackmail. When M.K. was moved out of solitary confinement, he endured group punishment. He was not allowed any visits during that period, nor was he allowed access to the prison canteen. During the raid to arrest M.K., his house was attacked by tear gas and stun grenades. As a result, his neighbor’s daughter lost hearing in one ear. M.K. is not allowed to leave the city of Nablus for the next six years.

Detainee 6: I.B., 16 years old

I.B.’s cousin was shot dead at an Israeli checkpoint in Nablus at the age of 15. The soldiers suspected he was wearing an explosives belt because of a wire connected to his ear. It later transpired that it was a mobile phone earpiece. In order to commemorate his cousin, I.B. decided to print posters of his cousin and paste them on the walls of his neighborhood. This was considered a crime by the IDF. I.B. spent four days in prison and 18 days in a solitary confinement cell. He was not able to finish his studies after his imprisonment.

Detainee 7: Z.B., 17 years old at the time of his arrest

Z.B.’s family was asked by soldiers to immediately evacuate their house with no prior notice. During the raid on his house, all of the family’s furniture was broken into pieces. When the soldiers finished raiding the house, one soldier twisted his arms while the second blindfolded him. He and his cousin were arrested. They were accused of belonging to a Hamas group. Z.B. has been in prison for nine years now. He is not allowed any family visits.

Detainee 8: N.A., 18 years old

Detainee 8: N.A., 18 years old. Based on an interview with N.A.

N.A. was arrested during a night raid on his house. He was blindfolded and taken to a detention center in Petah Tikva. He was put in a small cell with no windows except a small hole in the ceiling. He was held there for four days before he was interrogated.

During the interrogation, he was sat handcuffed on a chair under what he describes as an air-conditioner that was used to drastically increase or decrease the temperature.

After spending 35 days in solitary confinement N.A. decided to admit to something he had not done in order to be taken for trial.

He recalls a prisoner in a neighboring cell setting himself and his mattress on fire as he was given a cigarette.

As an ex-detainee, N.A. says he finds it hard to find a decent job or live a “normal” life.

Detainee 9: U.D., 10 years old