Despite a ceasefire, hundreds of Palestinian children remain in Israeli custody, held without charge under a system designed to break them. This article tells the story of Abdul Rahman Abdul Jameel, a 17-year-old boy who was subjected to torture and abuse during his 44 days of solitary confinement. It highlights the plight of Palestinian children detained by Israel, who face indefinite administrative detention, lack of legal representation, and harsh prison conditions.
Despite a ceasefire, hundreds of Palestinian children remain behind bars, held without charge in a system designed to break them. Abdul Rahman Abdul Jameel, just 17 at the time, was roused from his sleep on May 10, 2023, when Israel i soldiers raided his family home in Nablus, a town in the occupied West Bank. He was dragged from bed, the soldiers ransacked the house before detaining him.
The young Palestinian was forced to walk nearly three kilometers before being herded onto a bus and transported to a military camp in Huwwara and then to a military interrogation center in Tel Aviv. Released by Israel on January 20, 2025, Abdul Rahman vividly remembers the 44 days of solitary confinement in a tiny cell, enduring both severe physical and psychological torture. The beatings left him with a broken nose, a cracked skull, fractured ribs, and battered hands and legs. He was among a group of twelve Palestinian detainees who were assaulted in the same room by Israeli officers. They cursed us, insulted our mothers and sisters, humiliated us, for nothing. We hadn’t done a thing,' he recalls.Abdul Rahman's story is emblematic of hundreds of other Palestinian children detained by Israel before and after the October 7, 2023, cross-border attack by Hamas. By the end of 2024, Israeli forces were holding a total of 320 Palestinian children in custody, most without access to legal support, according to Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association. Families of released child prisoners, many exhibiting signs of torture, were reportedly threatened by Israeli forces with repercussions if they spoke to the media, according to Defence for Children International Palestine (DCIP). The nightmarish memories of his detention continue to haunt Abdul Rahman. 'I try to smile, but after two years in prison, they wouldn’t let me feel that moment properly,’ he adds, recalling how upon hearing of his release, he was ordered by Israeli soldiers to lower his head, shouted at, and threatened with a beating. Following the next exchange on February 11, Israel will have released a total of 583 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. But the number of children being detained continues to rise. Soldiers drag children from their beds, blindfold them, and shackle their hands behind their backs before taking them away, often at gunpoint. In many cases, such as Abdul Rahman's, the detainees themselves do not even know why they are being held. Unlike standard criminal proceedings, children placed under administrative detention are never formally charged with an offence. Instead, the Israeli military justifies their detention on secret evidence it claims is only presented to a military judge, on vague grounds of “security threats”. Administrative detention orders can last up to six months but are indefinitely renewable, causing severe psychological distress as detainees wake up every day facing the possibility of yet another extension, never knowing when or if they will be released. Because there are no formal charges, children cannot challenge the accusations against them or defend themselves in court.For many parents, the nightmare extends beyond that moment. Months may pass without any information on where their child is being held, as Israel routinely transfers detainees to prisons inside its borders, a practice that violates international law. Since October 2023, Palestinian child detainees have reported a sharp rise in ill-treatment and torture, along with worsening prison conditions, according to the Defence for Children International - Palestine (DCIP). The practice of administrative detention has been widely condemned by human rights organizations, UN bodies, and legal experts, yet it remains a central tool in Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian territories.
Palestinian Children Detained Israel Administrative Detention Torture Human Rights Occupied Territories
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