Palestinian teen arrested, tortured by Israeli forces

In a statement released yesterday, Luay Akka reported that 14-year-old Suleiman Salem Al-Dibs was detained from his home in Aida refugee camp in the southern occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem on 18 September.

Israeli forces stormed the boy’s home at 03:00, damaging the family’s property. Soldiers took Suleiman out of the house, slammed him against a wall and assaulted him, and put him in tight handcuffs, Akka said.

According to the report, Israeli interrogators continued to beat the boy, shouting at him and threatening to arrest his father and mother.

Suleiman told Akka that he suffered wounds in his face and mouth and was not provided treatment despite being in severe pain.

The report came after the Lajee Centre, a community organisation in Aida refugee camp, said on 26 September that Israeli forces had detained three children from the camp: 15-year-old Omar Radi, Mustafa Hammad and Mohammed Awis.

Meanwhile, the same day Suleiman was detained, an Israeli military court filed charges against three Palestinian minors from Aida a month after they were detained for allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails and stones at Israeli forces at the edge of Aida refugee camp in the southern occupied West Bank district of Bethlehem.

There is a 99.74 per cent conviction rate for Palestinians tried in Israeli military courts, according to Human Rights Watch.

Human rights groups have also widely documented the abuse of Palestinian children by Israeli forces and the harsh interrogation practices used to force them to confession.

Defense for Children International – Palestine has said their research showed that almost two-thirds of Palestinian children detained in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces had endured physical violence after their arrest.

KD