Israel is arbitrarily jailing Palestinian children in record numbers. This must stop
An Israeli military vehicle drives in front of a watchtower inside the Ofer prison complex in the occupied West Bank on 25 January 2025
Miranda Cleland writes in Middle East Eye on 9 March 2025:
Palestinian boys – mostly 15 to 17 years of age, but sometimes as young as 12 – have long been targeted by the Israeli military for arrest, detention and prosecution.
Israel is the only country in the world that automatically and systematically prosecutes children in military courts, with between 500 and 700 Palestinian children detained and prosecuted annually.
An increasing number of those children have not been charged with any crime, and are held under administrative detention orders. They are part of the largest cohort of Palestinian child administrative detainees in history.
Since the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, Israeli forces have seriously escalated their efforts to arrest Palestinians, including children, in huge numbers.
The most consistent source of prisoner numbers is the Israel Prison Service, which releases head counts once a quarter, including breakdowns by age and charge – or lack thereof. Human rights groups like the one I work for, Defence for Children International – Palestine (DCIP), monitor these numbers, document prison conditions, and collect testimony from prisoners.
The numbers alone are alarming: for the last year, each time the Israel Prison Service has released head counts, the number of Palestinian child detainees held in administrative detention was the highest it’s ever been.
The latest head count – 112 Palestinian child administrative detainees, as of the end of December – is almost five times the number of children held without charge prior to 7 October 2023. Child administrative detainees now represent more than one in three Palestinian child prisoners.
Rapid expansion
Israeli forces have rapidly expanded their use of administrative detention to exert control over Palestinian children and families in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli authorities enacted harsh restrictions on access to Israeli prisons after 7 October. Family visits were suspended entirely, and visits from lawyers representing prisoners became extremely difficult, frequently rejected by Israeli authorities.