CAAC Bulletin
Children Affected by Armed Conflict
Israel & the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) 2010 Annual Review
Since 2007, a UNICEF-led working group has consolidated efforts to monitor and report on grave violations against children in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). Members of the working group include: Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, Save the Children, DCI-Palestine, B’Tselem, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, War Child Holland, OCHA, OHCHR, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNRWA and WHO. The violations that are being monitored include killing and injuries, arrest and detention, ill-treatment and torture, recruitment and use of children by armed forces and groups, attacks on schools and hospitals, displacement, and denial of humanitarian access including access to health and education. The bulletin is published on a bi-monthly basis highlighting trends and patterns in grave violations against children during the reporting period. This report covers the period from January to December 2010 with analysis of trends and patterns in armed conflict violations compared with 2009.
Summary
In 2010, grave violations continued to be committed against children in the occupied Palestinian territory. Eleven Palestinian children were killed and 360 injured in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. No Israeli children were killed but two were injured. Palestinian children continued to be detained and subjected to ill-treatment, and in some cases torture, during arrest and interrogations by Israeli security forces. In East Jerusalem, search and arrest operations involving children as young as seven years old intensified in the Silwan neighbourhood, and child casualties increased at the end of the year as a result of the confrontations between private armed guards, hired by the Israeli Ministry of Housing to protect Israeli settlers, and local residents (unarmed). In Gaza, Palestinian children were shot at by Israeli security forces while collecting rubble in or near the Buffer Zone, hoping to earn some money to help their poverty-stricken families. Unknown armed Palestinian men attacked UNRWA summer schools and the Hamas authorities closed a youth organisation providing psychosocial and vocational support for more than 60,000 Gaza children and youth.
Killing and injuries
In 2010, eleven Palestinian children were killed and 360 children were injured in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. No Israeli children were killed but two were injured: one Israeli baby was injured when stones were thrown at a settler vehicle by Palestinians, and one Israeli girl was injured as a result of a rocket attack on Ashkelon by unknown Palestinian armed militants from the Gaza Strip.
Among the eleven Palestinian children killed, a total of five boys were killed in the Gaza Buffer Zone1 as a result of
Number of Palestinian and Israeli children killed as a result of armed conflict from January to December 2010, sourced from OCHA, Al Mezan and DCI and modified for the CAAC Bulletin
1 The buffer zone denotes Gaza’s border with Israel. The Israeli military has officially indicated the boundary of the no-go area to be 300 meters from the border but in practice, it extends up to one kilometre in most areas and two kilometres at its widest point in North Gaza. The number of people directly affected by access restrictions to these land areas is estimated at approximately 113,000 people or 7.5 per cent of Gaza’s total population ( OCHA & WFO 2010: ‘Humanitarian Impact of Israel- imposed Restrictions on Access to Land and Sea in the Gaza Strip’)
Israeli military activities. Two were fatally shot by the Israeli security forces as they approached the fence separating Israel from the Gaza strip with an assault rifle; three were killed as a result of mortar shells fired by the Israeli security forces; two boys were killed by the detonation
of an unexploded artillery shell in Gaza. In the West Bank, four boys were killed in settler related incidents, three by the Israeli security forces and one boy was killed directly by settlers.
Of the 360 Palestinian children injured, there were a total of 342 boys and 18 girls, including 58 children under the age of 12. Eighty-three per cent of the violations occurred in the West Bank, including thirty eight per cent in East Jerusalem. Seventeen per cent of all child injuries occurred in Gaza. A total of
302 child injuries were perpetrated by the Israeli security forces and 40 injuries were perpetrated by Israeli settlers.
Eleven children, ten boys and one girl, were injured as a result of unexploded ordinances including seven incidents in Gaza and three incidents in the West Bank. Five children were injured in two incidents in Gaza related to the mishandling of weapons and explosives, including one incident allegedly involving Hamas militants.
Children in the Gaza Buffer Zone
There are serious concerns regarding the increasing number of children shot and seriously injured in the Gaza Buffer Zone. Forty boys and four girls were injured in this area in 2010. Evidence indicates that Israeli security forces shoot towards civilians, including children, while they are collecting gravel and scrap metal in abandoned settlements and industrial zones near the Gaza fence, which they sell to help support their families. The market of scrap metal and gravel collection is linked to the restrictions placed by the Israeli authorities on building materials entering Gaza. Once collected, the gravel is sold to builders for around 80 cents a bag. A total of 26 boys, age 13-17, were shot while working within 800 meters of the fence. In cases where sworn affidavits were taken, 19 children were shot in their leg, two in their arm and one child was shot in the head. In 16 out of the 26 cases the children stated that they had not crossed ‘the 300 metre zone’ unilaterally imposed by the Israeli security forces `when the shooting occurred. The existence of such a zone was partially acknowledged by the Israeli security forces in May 2009, when its air force dropped pamphlets over different parts of the Gaza Strip stating that anybody entering areas closer than 300 meters from the fence endangers his or her life. The repeated targeting and shooting of unarmed children in the leg or arm by soldiers in nearby watchtowers demonstrates a pattern of violations by the Israeli security forces. The targeting of civilians is absolutely prohibited under international law.
Number of Palestinian and Israeli children injured as a result of armed conflict from January to December 2010, sourced from OCHA, Al Mezan and DCI and modified for the CAAC Bulletin
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Number of Palestinian and Israeli children injured by perpetrator from January to December 2010, sourced from OCHA, Al Mezan and DCI and modified for the CAAC Bulletin
There has been a decrease in the number of killings from 2009 to 2010. However, there is a trend of increasing injuries to Palestinian children in 2010 when compared to the number of children injured in 2009, excluding the injuries that occurred during the Israeli military offensive in January of that year (‘Operation Cast Lead’)2. This highlights the vulnerability of Palestinian children in the face of the Israeli occupation and settler violence in the West Bank.
Recruitment and use of children
Three new cases of Palestinian children used by Israeli security forces as human shields were documented in three separate incidents in the West Bank in 2010. A 16-year-old girl and a 13 year old boy were used as human shields during house searches in two separate incidents in Nablus, and a 14 year old boy was forced to walk in front of Israeli security forces as a shield while stones were being thrown at them during clashes in Hebron. In comparison, seven cases of children used as human shields by Israeli security forces were documented in 2009 during the “Cast Lead’ offensive in Gaza. Since April 2004, 16 cases of children being used as human shields by the Israeli security forces have been documented. The use of children as human shields in 2010 indicates that these grave violations against children by the Israeli security forces are continuing.
2 The MRM WG documented the killing of 352 children during the Israeli offensive in Gaza in 2008/2009
Number of Palestinian and Israeli children injured by region category from January to December 2010, sourced from OCHA, Al Mezan and DCI and modified for the CAAC Bulletin
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Arrest and detention
As of December 2010, there were 213 Palestinian children between the ages of 12-17 years in Israeli military detention including one girl. This represents a thirty per cent reduction from December 2009 (305 children). There were 30 children detained between the ages of 12 to 15 at the end of November 2010, representing a decrease of twenty-nine per cent from December 2009 (42 children). A total of two children were held in Israeli administrative detention without charge or trial in 2010. At the close of 2010, one boy remains in administrative detention after having been detained without charges for over 10 months. In East Jerusalem, a number of cases have been documented relating to the arrest of young children in the Silwan neighbourhood with a sharp increase in the last quarter of 2010. According to Israeli police figures 1,267 criminal files were opened against children accused of throwing stones in East Jerusalem between October 2009 and October 2010. There were increasing reports of violence and mistreatment by Israeli security forces during patrols of Silwan, as well as during arrest, transfer and interrogations of children from East Jerusalem.
Number of Palestinian children in Israeli detention in 2008-2010
Source: DCI-Palestine Detention Bulletin November 2010
In September and October 2010 alone, twenty-six Palestinian children were injured and one 15- month-old baby killed in East Jerusalem as a result of the confrontations between private armed guards, hired by the Israeli Ministry of Housing to protect Israeli settlers, and local residents (unarmed) in the neighbourhood of Silwan. There were increasing reports of violence and ill- treatment by Israeli security forces during patrols of Silwan, as well as during arrest, transfer and interrogation of children between the ages of 7-17 from East Jerusalem. Tensions in Silwan increased in the second half of 2010, particularly after the publication of a master plan for the neighbourhood, which anticipates the displacement of hundreds of Palestinian residents living in houses without a building permit. The number of permits granted by Israeli authorities to Palestinians does not meet the existing demand for housing.
Ill-treatment and torture
In 2010, 90 cases of ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children in Israeli detention were documented and one case by the Palestinian Preventative Security Forces. Twenty-four children were below the age of 15 years, including two ten year olds and one seven year old. In more than seventy- five cases the excessive or extended use of hand-ties and blindfolds were reported, sixty-two children reported being beaten; thirty-five children reported position abuse and sixteen children were kept in solitary confinement. In three cases, children reported the use of electric shocks on their bodies and
450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100
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four children reported being threatened with electric shocks in the course of their interrogation, which resulted in confessions under duress.
In comparison, in 2009, a total of 101 cases of ill-treatment and torture of children in Israeli detention were documented. In all instances in 2009 and 2010 where sworn affidavits were taken children reported ill-treatment and torture. The high number of violations reported suggests that ill-treatment and torture are used systematically in the Israeli military court system. Since 2001, 645 complaints have been made to the Ministry of Justice concerning the violent practice of interrogators of the Israeli Security Agency. No judicial investigation of any case has been undertaken3.
Sexual Violence
Fourteen cases of sexual violence involving 13 Palestinian boys and one girl in Israeli detention were documented in 2010. The cases involve children between the ages of 13-17 and include both threats of sexual violence (13) and actual sexual assaults (1). On 26 May 2010, a 15 year old boy reported sexual assault during interrogation. The boy was arrested in the middle of the night and accused of throwing stones. He was denied access to toilet for six hours, interrogated, verbally abused and kicked in the back. Following denial of accusations of throwing stones electrical cables were reportedly placed on his genitals. The boy said that he agreed to confess after being kicked and threatened with electrifying the cables. In comparison, in 2009, nine cases of sexual violence involving eight Palestinian boys and one girl between the ages of 15-16 in Israeli military detention were documented. The increase in documented cases of sexual violence from 2009 to 2010 reflects improved and increased documentation and also raises concern over the continued use of torture and ill-treatment against Palestinian children during arrest, interrogation and detention.
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B’Tselem and Hamoked 2010: ‘Kept in the Dark: Treatment of Palestinian Detainees in the Petach- Tikva Interrogation Facility of the Israel Security Agency ‘. The report is based on the testimonies of 121 adult Palestinians who were held, in the Petach-Tikva interrogation facility of the Israel Security Agency (ISA) in the first and last quarters of 2009.
Violations reported in 91 cases of ill- treatment and torture in 2010 and 101 cases in 2009 documented by DCI-Palestine.
Number of cases of sexual violence documented by DCI from January to December 2010.
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Displacement
More than 425 Palestinian structures were demolished in 2010 in Area ‘C’ and East Jerusalem of the West Bank including 133 residential structures, leaving at least 594 people, including 299 children homeless. More than 2,500 others were affected in other ways, including loss of livelihood due to the demolitions. Forced displacement is a reality that continues to affect the lives and well-being of hundreds of Palestinian families every year.
More than 714 demolition, eviction or stop-work-orders were issued or renewed against residential and non-residential structures in the West Bank, in Area ‘C’ and East Jerusalem, affecting a total of 2,975 people, including 1,180 children. Seventeen per cent of the orders were demolition orders, sixty-eight per cent were stop-work orders and fourteen per cent were eviction orders.
Attacks on Schools
In 2010 there were a total of 24 documented attacks on schools by settlers, Israeli security forces and unknown armed Palestinian groups, which resulted in damage to schools or interrupted education, placing the safety of the children in Gaza, the West Bank or Israel at risk. The majority of incidents (thirty-three per cent) involved the presence
of Israeli security forces within school compounds as part of raids, forceful entry and search and arrest operations including the use of teargas on students. In four incidents, schools were attacked by settlers in the West Bank involving arson and vandalism. Two incidents involved attacks on UNRWA summer schools in Gaza by unknown armed Palestinian men. Seventeen per cent of the attacks on schools were air strikes and shelling incidents, including three by Israeli security forces and one homemade rocket attack by a Palestinian armed group that landed near a kindergarten in Israel. Other incidents include a school demolition and the issuing of a demolition order against a school by the Israeli authorities. In comparison, in 2009 following ‘Operation Cast Lead’, there were ten documented attacks on schools, indicating an increase in attacks on schools and education facilities and a lack of safe learning spaces for children in oPt.
Denial of humanitarian access and impact of conflict on access to basic services
On 20 June 2010, the Israeli Security Cabinet announced it would ease the Gaza blockade, particularly pertaining to civilian goods and humanitarian access. While this resulted in some improvement in the entry of construction materials, it amounts to a fraction of what is needed to meet the humanitarian needs of the population of Gaza. For example, the lack of access to materials and tools needed for maintenance and repair have caused a deterioration of the water and sanitation
Incidents involving attacks on school by responsible party in 2010 based on 24 documented cases from January to December 2010
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infrastructure and resulted in lack of access to safe, potable drinking water across Gaza. Persons living in Gaza now depend on unregulated private desalination plants for their drinking water. Unfit sanitation facilities are currently resulting in the dumping of over 50 million litres of untreated or partially treated sewage into the Mediterranean on a daily basis. The blockade on the Gaza Strip is also having a devastating impact on availability, accessibility and quality of education in Gaza. UNRWA was unable to provide elementary and preparatory education to an estimated 40,000 Palestine refugee children who are eligible and wish to attend UNRWA schools, owing to shortage of classroom space as a result of the ongoing blockade and the related ban on construction materials. These children were sent to study at Palestinian Authority schools.
The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Right of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict
On 19 January 2010, during its 53rd session, the Committee on the Rights of the Child reviewed Israel’s compliance with the CRC Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC). On 29 January 2010, the Concluding Observations were issued expressing the Committee’s deep concern at the persistent use of Palestinian children as human shields and informants by the IDF and noting with concern that provisions in Military Orders (specifically no. 378 and 1591) continue to be in violation of international standards as ‘they may allow prolonged incommunicado detention of children, and... do not provide due process guarantees, access to legal assistance and family visits’ (CRC/C/15/Add.195, para. 61). The Committee furthermore noted with concern the anticipated incorporation of a juvenile system within military courts. In its concluding observations, CRC expressed several concerns about Israel laws and practices with regards to the protection of children involved in armed conflict. Among others, the CRC urged Israel in paragraph 35 to:
(a) Rescind the Military Orders 378 and 1591, as previously recommended in 2002; (b) Never hold criminal proceedings against children in military courts and not subject children to administrative detention; (c) Guarantee that juvenile justice standards are applied to all children within its jurisdiction and any trials should be conducted in a prompt and impartial manner, in accordance with minimum fair trial standards; (d) Ensure that any definition of terrorist crimes is brought in line with international standards and norms, as recommended by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism (A/HRC/6/17/Add.4, para. 55);
The Israel/oPt working group fully endorses the CRC Concluding Observations on OPAC. The full report is available at: http://daccesny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G10/410/68/PDF/G1041068.pdf?OpenElement
Access to healthcare
Jordan and Israel – for a wide range of medical assistance. From January-November 2010, 3,546 out of 3,851 applications for children who sought to obtain medical assistance outside of Gaza were approved. A total of 294 applications were delayed and 11 applications denied. Delayed patients generally miss their hospital appointments. In most cases, they have to obtain new hospital appointments and submit new applications for a permit to cross Erez. Both delays and denials in processing applications can be life-threatening for child patients who are waiting for urgent medical treatment. Four children, all under the age of three years old died while waiting for the appropriate permits to travel outside of Gaza in 2010.
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Access to education
In 2010, an increasing number of incidents have been documented in which students are prevented from accessing schools, learning is disrupted, or where the safety of students is compromised. Throughout oPt, there have been forty such incidents in 2010 affecting more than sixty thousand children. Thirty eight per cent of the cases involved closures of roads and checkpoints, searches, and harassment or assaults at checkpoints by Israeli authorities which
Incidents affecting children’s access to education by region category in 2010 based on 40 documented cases from January to December 2010
prevented or delayed students from reaching their schools. In thirty-three per cent of cases, children missed school hours and were exposed to settler violence because Israeli authorities failed to provide military escorts to protect children who pass near violent settlements and outposts in the West Bank4. Fifteen per cent of the cases involved settlers, including two direct attacks on students on their way to school and a case of flooding of a school yard
Incidents affecting childrens access to education by responsible party based on 40 documented cases from January to December 2010
with raw sewage from a nearby settlement. Three cases involved the harassment, intimidation and eventual closure by Hamas authorities of a youth organization that provides psychosocial and vocational support and operates summer camps and other programs for approximately 60,000 Gaza children and youth. In 2009, seven incidents of children being prevented from accessing education services were documented, however the sharp increase in incidents reported in 2010 is likely due to unreported incidents in 2009.
Contact:
4 ‘In November 2004, the Israeli District Coordinating Office (DCO), a branch of the Israeli military that administers civilian affairs, issued a verbal order for a daily escort of the school children. The Israeli Knesset Committee for Children’s Rights later confirmed this order’ CPT and Operation Dove (2010): The Dangerous Road to Education - Palestinian Students Suffer Under Settler Violence and Military Negligence.
Catherine Weibel
Chief, Communication UNICEF oPt Tel: +972-2-5840404 E-mail: cweibel@unicef.org
Monica Awad
Communication Specialist UNICEF oPt Tel: +972-2-584-0400 (ext 405) Email: mawad@unicef.org
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