Abusing East Jerusalem Children:
Effects of Israeli Policies on Children
01 Jan 2012By Stephen Lendman
Last July, B'Tselem published a report titled, "No
Minor Matter: Violation of the Rights of Palestinian
Minors by Israel on Suspicion of Stone-Throwing." It
discussed their abusive treatment.
From 2005 through 2010, "at least 835 Palestinian
minors were arrested" and faced military court trials
for alleged stone-throwing. Thirty-four were aged 12 -
13, 255 aged 14 - 15, and 546 aged 16 -17.
All except one were convicted. Due process and
judicial fairness were denied. In violation of
international law, Israel treats children like adults.
Some aged 10 or younger are arrested, intimidated,
tortured, or otherwise abused.
In fact, on January 12, Al Haq reported "a new line
crossed" after Israeli security forces harassed,
blindfolded, arrested, and detained a seriously ill
six-year old boy for seven hours. Obviously, his
parents were frantic.
Soldiers usually make middle-of-the-night arrests.
Children are taken away alone. Parents can't accompany
them. Abusive interrogations follow. Enough food and
water, bathroom privileges and proper sleep are
denied. Nearly always, convictions and detentions
follow.
Defense for Children International/Palestine Section (DCI/Palestine)
covers their ill-treatment and torture during arrest,
transfer, interrogation, detention, and for some,
solitary confinement isolation. Case studies explain
the traumatizing effects. More on them below.
DCI/Palestine says about 700 Palestinian children are
prosecuted annually in Israeli military tribunals
affording them no rights. Conviction rates are 99%.
Those charged are guilty by accusation.
Children like 12-year old Bashar M. was arrested
pre-dawn. His hands were painfully bound behind his
back. He was blindfolded, placed on a military vehicle
floor, verbally abused, slapped on the face, kept
blindfolded at Al Mascobiyya interrogation center,
strip-searched on arrival, struck again, denied bail
or legal representation, traumatized, and told either
confess (to stone throwing) or be imprisoned for a
very long time.
Other children report similar or worse treatment
including pre-trial isolation, torture, and other
forms of abuse.
Physicians for Human Rights/Israel (PHR/I) contributor
Dr. Graciela Carmon discussed "Coerced False
Confessions: The Case of Palestinian Children."
Addressing psychological and social factors affecting
them in custody, she posed three main questions:
(1) What affect do abusive interrogations have "on the
behavior and mental state" of children and
adolescents?
(2) What emotional and social consequences affect them
and their families?
(3) What psychological, developmental and social
factors increase their vulnerability to give coerced
false confessions?
Under ideal conditions, interrogations are stressful
for adults. Coercive, abusive ones for children can be
traumatizing. As a result, they're vulnerable to
confessing when innocent, especially under the
following conditions:
- "emotional and/or physical stress;
- threats;
- mental and/or physical torture;
- cruel treatment;
- humiliation;
- physical and/or mental exhaustion;
- sleep deprivation;
- prolonged questioning for many hours;
- leading questioning; and
- use (of) deceptive and manipulative techniques
(e.g. polygraph tests, providing false investigation
results, fingerprints, blood, and presenting false
witnesses)."
Moreover, traumatizing isolation may cause mental
damage, ranging from "behavioral changes to a loss of
touch with reality (a psychotic state)."
Detainees, especially children, feel "helpless and out
of control of the situation." Bowing to interrogator
demands may result, including false confessions for
relief.
Most vulnerable detainees include children,
adolescents, drug addicts, alcoholics, and mentally
ill or retarded individuals.
Children are less able to endure pain and stress than
adults. They're also more vulnerable to psychological
interrogation methods. As a result, fear, resignation,
or impulsiveness may induce confessions.
They're also more susceptible to leading questions,
deception, manipulation, and power of authoritative
adult figures. As a result, during stressful
interrogations, "they lack the ability, and even the
option, to object to requests or coercion by adults."
They're especially vulnerable to abusive Israeli
practices, including:
- forceful middle of the night or pre-dawn home
entries by large numbers of threatening soldiers; at
times, they're masked and camouflaged in black
uniforms; occupants are awakened, children dragged
out of bed, and homes searched or ransacked;
- during arrests, soldiers abuse children
violently; complaints increase its severity;
- deprived of food and water, bathroom privileges
and enough sleep, they're forced to wait hours
handcuffed and blindfolded;
- parents aren't told where their children were
taken; legal help is denied; and
- abusive interrogations and detention follow,
including sleep deprivation and isolation.
As a result, children are traumatized, lose
control, become vulnerable, feel helpless and
unprotected, and succumb to abusive authority.
They also become apathetic, indifferent, lose trust in
adults, suffer extreme anxiety, experience learning
difficulties, and have nightmares and other sleep
problems.
In addition, they may display "severe behavioral
disorders," including "aggression, over-dependence,
avoidance, difficulty in returning to a routine,
isolationist tendencies, and weeping."
Eating disorders, bedwetting and other physical
disorders affect them. Extreme emotional and physical
stress also causes a "profound loss of self-esteem,"
dignity and identity.
Entire families are affected, unable to provide help
and support. However, for children, the experience is
devastating and hard to remedy.
Severe physical and emotional suffering causes
psychological problems, including post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), psychosomatic diseases, fits
of anger, learning and concentration difficulties,
memory problems, fear and anxiety, sleep and eating
disorders, regressive symptoms, and bedwetting.
The entire ordeal "exhausts and permeates the
personality of the child (and) robs him or her of
hope." Most vulnerable are children in poor, isolated
populations, under conditions of conflict, political
tension, and/or severe social stress.
Children, families and societies are affected,
especially when victimized and wrongfully abused.
"Every child has the right to be a child, to his or
her dignity, and to protections from all forms of
violence."
Israel denies Palestinians all rights, including
vulnerable children.
Effects of Israeli Policies on East
Jerusalem Children
Last August, DCI/Palestine published a report titled,
"Voices from East Jerusalem: The Situation Facing
Palestinian Children," saying:
Occupation policies imposed crushing hardships.
Testimonies provide proof. Three issues are discussed,
including house demotions, settler violence, and
arrests and detentions.
House Demolitions
Only 13% of East Jerusalem is zoned for Palestinian
construction by permit authority only. The rest is for
settlements, green areas, public spaces, or yet to be
decided.
Obtaining permit permission presents enormous
obstacles, including cost, bureaucratic procedures,
and extended periods at times taking years. Most
often, the process is futile. As a result, an enormous
imbalance exists between available housing stock and
demand.
Building without permission has painful consequences,
including demolitions, fines and possible
imprisonment. Nonetheless, the UN estimates about
one-third of Palestinian homes don't comply with
zoning requirements.
As a result, at least, 86,500 Palestinians face loss
of homes or worse. Dozens lose them annually. Children
are especially impacted, "living constantly in an
atmosphere of insecurity."
They bear the scars for life. They experience effects
similar to abusive interrogations and detentions.
Settler Violence
From January 2010 through May 2011, settlers injured
24 Palestinian children and killed one. Data exclude
others affected by harassment and intimidation.
Tensions are especially high in areas where settlers
resided in Palestinian neighborhoods like Silwan and
Sheikh Jarrah.
Severe Palestinian overcrowding and movement
restrictions exacerbate them, as well as the presence
of security forces and private guards. Attacking
children results, including random or opportunistic
incidents. Often they're in full view of police who do
nothing to intervene.
Child Detention
Since late 2009, increasing numbers of Palestinian
children were arrested on charges of stone throwing,
especially in Silwan.
According to Israeli police figures, from November
2009 through October 2010, 1,267 criminal files were
opened. Arrests, interrogations and detentions
followed.
Concern got 60 prominent Israeli professionals to
write Netanyahu and other senior officials. A November
24, 2010 letter said:
"(C)hildren and teenagers related that had been
dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night
or arrested in their neighborhoods by undercover
detectives and special security forces."
They were "taken in for questioning while handcuffed
and unescorted by their parents. In certain cases, the
families were not notified of the arrest in real time.
Minors were asked to give names and incriminate
friends and relatives as a condition of their
release."
They "were threatened and humiliated by their
interrogators, and some of them were subject to
physical violence while taken in for questioning and
under interrogation."
These concerns correspond to complaints received by
DCI-Palestine, and were included in testimonial
evidence in their report.
Common complaints replicate those covered above.
"Contrary to international law, Israel imposes its own
civilian legal system on the Palestinian residents of
East Jerusalem." DCI/P cites frequent security force
violence and other forms of abuse.
Children as young as 7 (now 6) were affected.
Terrified and traumatized, many are permanently
scared. Security forces commit crimes against humanity
with impunity.
According to one mother in danger of losing her home:
"I believe (they just) want to get rid of" us. Indeed
so, and children always suffer most.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached
at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog
site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to
cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on
the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive
Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and
Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are
archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
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