By Aysar Al-Ayas
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Some 270 Palestinian children are held in Israeli prisons amid harsh conditions, a Palestinian commission said on Wednesday.
In a statement marking World Children’s Day, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs said this figure does not include minors detained by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip.
"The occupation continues to detain no less than 270 children, who are mainly held in Ofer and Megiddo prisons, in addition to camps established by the occupation army after the Gaza war,” it added.
The commission said it documented testimonies about Israeli abuses against Palestinian children by prison wardens.
"Systematic crimes are being committed by the prison administration against the jailed children, in addition to beatings, torture, and daily abuses,” it added.
On Nov. 7, the Israeli Knesset (parliament) passed a law authorizing the detention of Palestinian minors under 14.
The legislation, a temporary five-year measure, allows courts to order the detention of children under 14 in closed facilities if convicted of murder involving “terrorism or terrorist activities.”
Upon reaching 14, the child would continue to serve their sentence in prison, according to the Knesset.
According to Palestinian figures, over 11,700 Palestinians have been detained by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank since October last year, including those who were released after being arrested.
The figure, however, doesn't include those arrested from the Gaza Strip whose numbers are estimated to be in the thousands.
Tension has been running high in the West Bank due to Israel’s brutal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 44,000 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last year.
Nearly 785 Palestinians, including at least 165 children, have since been killed and over 6,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar