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Stone throwing children arrested by Israeli police
Baltimore News.Net
Friday 5th March, 2010
Children as young as 12 are being seized from their homes in the middle of the night by Israeli security agents and police officers.
The youngsters are being taken into custody for interrogation on stone-throwing charges.
In recent months there have been many cases in which minors aged 12-15 from Silwan, in East Jerusalem, were arrested in the middle of the night, the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem says. "The minors were taken out of their beds and brought to the police station in the Russian Compound, in West Jerusalem. Some of them were brought handcuffed, and none of the parents were allowed to accompany them."
The series of arrests is related to ongoing friction between residents of Silwan and settlers in nearby Beit Yehonatan and security personnel guarding it. Palestinian children in the neighborhood are accused of throwing stones at building sites.
In his testimony to B'Tselem, Muhammad Dweik, 12, described his arrest in the middle of the night:
"Around 4:30 to 5:00 in the morning, I woke up from the sound of knocking at the door. Shabak [ISA] agents asked my father for the ID card of Muhammad Dweik. My father told them that I don’t have an ID card. When I went over to them, I got the feeling they were surprised by how young I am, but they had an arrest warrant. My father asked them to let me stay at home and said he would bring me to the police station in the morning, but they refused. They tied my hands behind me and took me. The policemen put me into a Border Police jeep. A friend of mine was also inside it. A policeman who sat next to me kept kicking me in the leg all the way."
Lu’ai a-Rajabi, 14, told B'Tselem of his arrest and interrogation on 10 January 2010:
"During the interrogation, when I denied that I had thrown stones at the settlers’ house, the interrogator punched me in the nose. I was sitting on a chair, my hands and legs cuffed, my nose bleeding, and the interrogator was standing in front of me. He drew a bicycle on the board hanging on the wall and told me to get on it. I said, “How can I do that?” He said, “Everyone knows how to ride a bike!” When I refused to do it, he hit me on my head and face with his hands. I remember that, at some point, two men came into the room and said to me, “Don’t you want to confess?” I said, “Confess to what?” Then, while I was sitting on the chair with my hands cuffed, the three interrogators began to beat and kick me all over my body, and to swear at me and Allah. [...]. I asked to go to the bathroom and to get some food, but the interrogator refused. He told me to sign a paper written in Hebrew that says nobody beat me. I refused to sign. Then he began to slap me in the face."
The next day, a-Rajabi was brought before a Magistrates Court judge, who extended his detention to a week.
Ahmad Siyam, 12, was also arrested on 10 January. In his testimony, he related how he waited for the interrogation to begin at the Russian Compound:
"We got to the Russian Compound. They put me in a room and told me to sit on my knees facing the wall. Whenever I moved, a bald guy in civilian clothes hit me on the back of the neck with the palm of his hand. We were the only ones in the room. Around 5:00 in the morning, I asked to go to the bathroom, but he didn't let me and told me to turn my head back to face the wall. I refused, and he pushed me to the wall. My nose hit the wall and began to bleed. I asked for paper to clean my nose, but he didn't want to give me any. Then he told me to bow down to him on the floor and ask for him to forgive me, but I refused to do it. I told him I don’t bow to anyone but Allah. While this was going on, my legs began to hurt a lot. I was really frightened and started to shake. After that, the bald guy made himself a toasted cheese sandwich. He threw a piece of cheese at me, but missed. From time to time, he pressed my shoulders, which really hurt."
Mahmoud Gheith, 14, (pictured) was arrested under similar circumstances in November 2009. He told B'Tselem that he was released from detention with a restraining order requiring him to stay away from his house for one month.
"Since the arrest, I haven’t been able to sleep properly. I keep being afraid that they’ll arrest me again.
After they released me, I was under house arrest at my uncle’s house in Beit Hanina. They ordered me to stay away from home for a whole month. On the ‘Eid al-Adha festival, they let me go home to Silwan for four days. My uncle had to drive me to school in Silwan. On days when he couldn’t take me, I didn’t go to school."
According to B'Tselem, the authorities’ treatment of these minors completely contravenes the Youth Law, as amended in 2008 (Amendment No. 14). "Under the Law, a minor who is suspected of committing a criminal offense is entitled to consult with a parent or another relative prior to being interrogated, and to have the parent or relative present at the interrogation," B'Tselem says. "The Law also generally prohibits interrogating a minor at night and states that a minor should not be arrested if the objective can be achieved in a less harmful way. In the present case, some of the parents were willing to undertake to bring the minors in for interrogation in the morning, and there was no need for the night arrests," says B'Tselem.
"These actions by the authorities severely violated the human rights of the minors, all of whom are Israeli residents. There is no logic to conducting a military-style arrest operation in the middle of the night, with the aim of interrogating children suspected of throwing stones, and this course of action cannot be justified on any grounds. It is hard to believe that the security forces would have acted similarly against Jewish minors.
B'Tselem has sent what it describes as "urgent letters" to the Jerusalem District Police Commander, Maj. Gen. Aharon Franco, and to the head of the Department of the Investigation of Police, Herzl Shviro, demanding that police, ISA, and Border Police operations to detain minors in Silwan cease. "If any child from the neighborhood is suspected of having committed a criminal offense, he can be summoned for questioning in the presence of an adult on his behalf. Also, the questioning must be conducted by youth interrogators," the Israeli human rights organization said.  Email this story to a friend
Comments on this story
Unreg1
03-05-10, 10:57 PM |
Gestapo type raids anger Israeli human rights organization
Those with fear and anger in their hearts will find a way to justify this, or will write it off as propaganda, but I just dont see how Israel can think this is acceptable.
This has nothing to do with the problems in Palestine, it is a simple issue of some kids throwing rocks at the police, which should be stopped with arrests and questioning, but why is this brutality necessary? Why arrest young children in the middle of the night?
Dont they realise that they are creating their own perpetuating cycle of abuse and retaliation?
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Anonymous
03-06-10, 12:40 AM |
Who is it that needs to grow up
Lets blame children for throwing rocks.. The real crime is that there is no hope planted in their minds for a peaceful future. No way or path for living..This pain is felt not only by children, but by millions of others that only wish the pain to stop.. WHAT IS THE VISION FOR THE FUTURE mr Isreali.. If you have none then expect no mercy from the God we all share.
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Alison Eliyah
03-06-10, 01:47 AM |
Israel, repent!
There should be limit to Israel’s aggression towards those who live lin their land. Israel follows neither anthropological concern nor theological concern. As Paul said, the current Israel govt. is heaping up yahweh’s wrath upon itself. Better it is for them to repent and reconcile with the
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Anonymous
03-06-10, 03:29 AM |
The blockade is biting.
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Syed Suhail Khalid
03-06-10, 04:21 AM |
Throwing stones is right!
When you have Israeli bombs killing people and destroying homes;when Israel has clamped crippling sanctions on Palestine and made it extremely difficult for the Palestinians to even get a decent morsel of food,what hope can the Palestine children have?
The person who has blamed the Palestine children is a buffoon.Please go to the jungles of Africa.And you Israel,repent or go to hell forever.
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Anonymous
03-06-10, 06:26 AM |
Todays children tomorrow’s thugs.
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ElEm
03-06-10, 07:00 AM |
I doubt if this incident will be shown on our tv screens in the western world. This is what the Gestapo style Israeli police do. These youngster have been brought up with no hope. With the backing of peace keeper Blair in the region (just joking)and the most powerful man in the world Obama turning a blind eye and many more incidents like this will go unnoticed by these Israel loving individuals. No one should be surprised.
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Lonewolf
03-06-10, 11:10 AM |
Do you believe everything you read?
Come on, do you believe everything you read? Some, and I stress...SOME of this MIGHT have some truth in it, but...they conveniently leave out the fact that the
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nregistered
03-06-10, 01:01 PM |
Bad parenting!
ElEm;189773:
I doubt if this incident will be shown on our tv screens in the western world. This is what the Gestapo style Israeli police do. These youngster have been brought up with no hope. With the backing of peace keeper Blair in the region (just joking)and the most powerful man in the world Obama turning a blind eye and many more incidents like this will go unnoticed by these Israel loving individuals. No one should be surprised.
Face facts Palestinians teach their children hatred and not much else!
The hate is all consuming the cycle of violence can only be stopped by not teaching children to hate on both sides.
Instead both sides buy guns and bombs!
One is a welfare state that produces nothing and the other is a vibrant state everyone likes to malign.
Israel produces medicine, weapons, produce and things of value.
Palestinians produce a people no one wants.
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Lonewolf
03-06-10, 11:14 AM |
These
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Archangel
03-06-10, 11:21 AM |
It's not nice to throw rocks at people!
These Palestinian barbarians need to be taught a good lesson!
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Lonewolf
03-06-10, 11:27 AM |
Censored!
Seems someone doesn’t like what I have to say. Not surprising, Truth hurts...Censored!
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Anonymous
03-06-10, 12:43 PM |
As if.
Great story. Suckers.
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Moderator
03-06-10, 11:59 PM |
Lonewolf;189799:
Seems someone doesn’t like what I have to say. Not surprising, Truth hurts...Censored!
Lonewolf, your post was not censored, this forum only censores posts that are trying to advertise something, or posts that are acutely hateful.
We have an error in which some posts for some reason do not fully display, and our programmers are working on fixing this.
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Anonymous
03-06-10, 01:26 PM |
PL stop this Cycle
For a race of very intelligent people, Iam always surprised at how this problem is allowed to run away like this.
There needs to be a stop, if onyl for a moment and Israel being the more powerful advrsary needs to initiate this.
IF the Palestinian feel there is no hope for them, this will perpetuate!
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Anonymous
03-06-10, 02:00 PM |
Sounds like well organised Propaganda.
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ElEm
03-06-10, 02:16 PM |
Palestinian solidarity
These armchair critics should read about the plight of Palestinians. I can assure you brother if you were born a Palestinian you would be among the stone throwers as I would. Israel is the most heavily armed country in the middle east by the USA. They have ill treated their neighbours for scores of years and it has got to be stopped. Unfortunately George Bush’s best mate Tony Blair is a staunch supporter of Israel and as a peacemaker he will be biased against the suffering Palestinians. They need help from the international community who understand their suffering, So brothers get off your comfortable computer chairs and support the under privileged
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Anonymous
03-06-10, 03:28 PM |
C More trouble from Dubai to Gaza. Now its poor little kids
No need for palestinians to suffer. Just recognise the obvious existence of others. And stop trying to blame everyone else for your own stupidity. Its all self inflicted. You want respect. Its got to be earned.
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Lional
03-06-10, 05:03 PM |
Israeli police arrest minors for stone throwing
Robbing others land, water, natural resources etc and cry at the same time cant be right.
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Anonymous
03-06-10, 05:18 PM |
The Palestinians know that there is no hope of defeating Israel militarily so they rely heavily on propaganda and lies.They are determined to cause their own destruction, if only to have hope of bringing their enemy down with them.Because of a war like tendancy,they commit to their own destruction.
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Anonymous
03-06-10, 05:40 PM |
i call bullshit on this one. i believe that these kids were arrested for throwing stones, but their stories about being tortured during questioning are bullshit, plain and simple.
they should be taken from their families (who obviously aren’t raising them right) and put into juvenile homes for rehabilitation, so that they can learn to value the lives and rights of others as well as themselves. attempting to murder someone when you’re only 12 years old is an indicator of something being seriously wrong in the mind.
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vladimir
03-06-10, 10:23 PM |
Kids behavior are violent
Israel is only ONE, but a LOT of anti-Israeli individuals, entities, and countries. Israel has a religious freedom for everybody. From 1948 Israel had only trouble from arabs and than from palestinians terrorists, including kids. Maybe it is a time to stop violence?
Vladimir
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TheAZCowBoy
03-07-10, 01:39 AM |
Jews fire hellfire missiles at Paly kids - Paly kids throw rocks at the Jew SOB's = So, who gets arrested?
The answer is written in the wind friends, it’s written in the wind.
TheAZCowBoy
Tombstone, AZ.
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ibraha01
03-16-10, 10:41 AM |
just arrested ? how about a kid run over by police car
a 14 yr old boy was run over by israeli police car and then beaten and arrested as you can see here http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18070&id=100000110036351&ref=nf
israeli police denied the whole thing and the kid’s parent took him for treatment , and they treated it as if this never happened until the pictures came out .
why does israel get away with things like these ? if this happened in any other country this would be all over the news , but have you even heard of this , and you didn’t know about it what else don’t you know about .
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registered
03-16-10, 11:01 AM |
What you FAIL to get or do you?
ibraha01;191837:
a 14 yr old boy was run over by israeli police car and then beaten and arrested as you can see here http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18070&id=100000110036351&ref=nf
israeli police denied the whole thing and the kid’s parent took him for treatment , and they treated it as if this never happened until the pictures came out .
why does israel get away with things like these ? if this happened in any other country this would be all over the news , but have you even heard of this , and you didn’t know about it what else don’t you know about .
Much of what is publicized by Hamas and Hezbollah groups is not the truth but carefully crafted lies.
They have learned how to manipulate the often compliant media.
Pelstinian pressure group spush and push to make things happen and they get the desired result with the media somehow there to capture it all.
Convinient don’t you think?
With all that said how would you handle a next door neighbor that wants you dead and gone?
Would you wine and dine them and tell them how much you love them or would you return in kind the treatment they meet out upon your people?
Both sides in this are wrong.
Palestinian leadership are thugs, murderers, Criminals and religious zealots.
Israel’s leadership at times can be just as bad.
Both are invested in never letting this nonsense end because both are getting billions in hand outs.
Israel has an economy and produces goods.
Palestinians produce????
Suicide bombers?
Angry People no one wants?
Not much or a market for either.
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