Iranian Parliament Deplores Israeli Violation of Palestinian Children's Rights

"As you know, children need coupled support due their special age conditions. Unfortunately the reports on the violation of the children's rights in the occupied Palestine by the usurper Israeli regime are increasing every day," Head of the Parliament's Human Rights Commission, Zohreh Elahian, wrote in a letter.

"The intimidation, torturing and illegal detention of the children and violation of different articles of the children's rights convention, specially articles 37 and 40, are among the numerous cases of the violation of the children's rights by the Israeli regime," she added.

Lamenting that the Israeli regime detained and imprisoned over 835 Palestinian children under 17 years of age between the years 2005 and 2010, Elahian called on the UNICEF officials to pursue the case and prevent the Zionist regime's systematic violation of the Palestinian children's rights.

There are many Palestinian children in the West Bank villages in the shadow of Israel's separation wall and Jewish settlements on Palestinian lands. Where largely non-violent protests have sprung up as a form of resistance, there are children who throw stones, and raids by Israel are common. But lawyers and human rights groups have decried Israel's arrest policy of targeting children in villages that resist the occupation.

In most cases, children as young as 12 are hauled from their beds at night, handcuffed and blindfolded, deprived of sleep and food, subjected to lengthy interrogations, then forced to sign a confession in Hebrew, a language few of them read.

Israel claims to treat Palestinian minors in the spirit of its own law for juveniles but, in practice, it is rarely the case. For instance, children should not be arrested at night, lawyers and parents should be present during interrogations, and the children must be read their rights. But these are treated as guidelines, rather than a legal requirement, and are always flouted. And the Zionist regime regards Israeli youngsters as children until 18, while Palestinians are viewed as adults from 16.

A video footage released recently shows the situation faced by the innocent Palestinian children at the Israeli military court system and the brutal behavior of the Israeli interrogators towards them.

The footage released in August, displays a boy, small and frail, struggling to stay awake. His head lolls to the side, at one point slumping on to his chest. "Lift up your head! Lift it up!" shouts one of his interrogators, slapping him. But the boy by now is past caring, for he has been awake for at least 12 hours since he was separated at gunpoint from his parents at two that morning. "I wish you'd let me go," the boy whimpers, "Just so I can get some sleep."

During the nearly six-hour video, 14-year-old Palestinian Islam Tamimi, exhausted and scared, is steadily broken to the point where he starts to incriminate men from his village and weave fantastic tales that he believes his tormentors want to hear.

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Source: Fars News Agency

"As you know, children need coupled support due their special age conditions. Unfortunately the reports on the violation of the children's rights in the occupied Palestine by the usurper Israeli regime are increasing every day," Head of the Parliament's Human Rights Commission, Zohreh Elahian, wrote in a letter. "The intimidation, torturing and illegal detention of the children and violation of different articles of the children's rights convention, specially articles 37 and 40, are among the numerous cases of the violation of the children's rights by the Israeli regime," she added. Lamenting that the Israeli regime detained and imprisoned over 835 Palestinian children under 17 years of age between the years 2005 and 2010, Elahian called on the UNICEF officials to pursue the case and prevent the Zionist regime's systematic violation of the Palestinian children's rights. There are many Palestinian children in the West Bank villages in the shadow of Israel's separation wall and Jewish settlements on Palestinian lands. Where largely non-violent protests have sprung up as a form of resistance, there are children who throw stones, and raids by Israel are common. But lawyers and human rights groups have decried Israel's arrest policy of targeting children in villages that resist the occupation. In most cases, children as young as 12 are hauled from their beds at night, handcuffed and blindfolded, deprived of sleep and food, subjected to lengthy interrogations, then forced to sign a confession in Hebrew, a language few of them read. Israel claims to treat Palestinian minors in the spirit of its own law for juveniles but, in practice, it is rarely the case. For instance, children should not be arrested at night, lawyers and parents should be present during interrogations, and the children must be read their rights. But these are treated as guidelines, rather than a legal requirement, and are always flouted. And the Zionist regime regards Israeli youngsters as children until 18, while Palestinians are viewed as adults from 16. A video footage released recently shows the situation faced by the innocent Palestinian children at the Israeli military court system and the brutal behavior of the Israeli interrogators towards them. The footage released in August, displays a boy, small and frail, struggling to stay awake. His head lolls to the side, at one point slumping on to his chest. "Lift up your head! Lift it up!" shouts one of his interrogators, slapping him. But the boy by now is past caring, for he has been awake for at least 12 hours since he was separated at gunpoint from his parents at two that morning. "I wish you'd let me go," the boy whimpers, "Just so I can get some sleep." During the nearly six-hour video, 14-year-old Palestinian Islam Tamimi, exhausted and scared, is steadily broken to the point where he starts to incriminate men from his village and weave fantastic tales that he believes his tormentors want to hear. The End Source: Fars News Agency