It's winter night in Bethlehem. The clock is approaching 03.00, and it is raining. Suddenly Omar wakes to the sound of a window shattering. In through the window comes a masked, green-clad man. Soon after, the apartment is filled with soldiers with machine guns.

"Inside my room and several other places In the apartment there were ten to twelve soldiers who said they were going to arrest me. They took me out and put on my handcuffs. They tried to tie my eyes, and when I tried to resist, they brushed a dog on me. Then I said I wasn't afraid of the dog, ”says Omar, who lived in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Bethlehem when he was arrested. He stops. Exchanges a few words with the companion next door and laughs a bit before continuing:

"Then another soldier came away. He pushed me hard into a wall so I was scratched all over my face, put bandages in front of my eyes and took me with him. ”

Not unusual. That night marked the beginning of Omar's year in prison. Five days ago he was able to return to his everyday life, friends, school and boys' room in the refugee camp. But a year in prison with violence, torture and long stays in solitary confinement has left a mark on the 15 year-old.
"I have woken up every night after I was released and was afraid they would pick me up again. I dream a lot about the experiences I had in prison and the torture I experienced, ”Omar says.

Let's go back to the night he was imprisoned: Omar and the other boy from the camp are transported to the Etzion interrogation center, a 15-minute drive from Bethlehem. The blindfold is kept on throughout the trip, and the boys regularly receive what Omar describes as punches from a handgun. “When we arrived, they showed me some pictures of young people throwing stones. I wasn't in any of those pictures, but they still tried to make me confess to participating in illegal demonstrations and throwing stones. I refused to confess, and I refused to sign anything. I wouldn't admit to something I hadn't done, it could have big consequences later, ”says Omar.

After seven meetings in a military court, Omar was sentenced to one year in prison. He spent the rest of the year at the former Ofer military base outside Ramallah in the West Bank. He was subjected to violence by prison staff, and spent long periods in solitary confinement. He did not receive any formal schooling in prison, but he says that adult prisoners within the prison walls offered the young people education.
"Life in prison was cruel, and I do not want to go back," says Omar.

Omar's story may seem brutal, but it is by no means unique. Since October last year, around 100 children from the camp have been arrested, suspected of throwing stones or participating in demonstrations.

"For the past six months, the military has come here several nights a week. "Often there are several hundred soldiers who enter the camp to arrest three or four children," says organization leader Muhammed (50) from the same camp.
"They have dogs with them, they shoot with tear gas, and they wake up the whole camp. The arrests are so large that we suspect that the Israeli defense forces are using this as an opportunity to train their soldiers. At least I do not understand why it takes hundreds of soldiers to arrest a few people. We are under occupation, and Israel is in control. There are far easier ways to solve this, "says Muhammed.

No improvement. In March 2013, UNICEF presented the report “Children in Israeli Military Detention». The report is based on more than 400 testimonies from children who have been arrested and charged in Israeli military tribunals. In the report, UNICEF concludes that "the abuse of children who come into contact with the military system appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalized throughout the process". In 2015, UNICEF launched another report, concluding that the proven abuse of children during arrest, transport, interrogation and imprisonment has not decreased since the previous report was launched. This is also confirmed by testimonies from children collected by the Military Court Watch (MCW), an organization that mainly consists of lawyers working in the region.

Earlier this spring, a number of Israeli human rights lawyers visited Oslo in connection with the campaign PIM – Palestinian children in Israeli military prisons, which took place at the House of Literature on 2 April. One of the participants was lawyer Gerhard Horton, one of the founders of MCW. He is worried about the development he is seeing.

"The most disturbing thing is the reports of physical abuse. It's mostly about kicks, punches and uncomfortable, painful positions, but in addition there are even more serious accusations about, for example, dog bites and electric shocks, "says Horton. "These methods are used to an even greater extent now than in 2013," he says. The MCW estimates that since June 1967, 95 Palestinian children have been arrested by the Israeli military. Of these, probably around 000 children have experienced physical abuse.

The Palestinian Children in Israeli Prisons campaign was launched as an initiative of Seniors for Palestine and Grandmothers for Peace in the spring of 2014. Today, the campaign is run by an independent group, with broad support from civil society organizations and trade unions. The purpose is to spread information about the situation of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons, and to raise money for a trial for a young boy who has been imprisoned without law or sentence for throwing stones at Israeli soldiers.

War against the children. According to figures from the Prisioners Club in Bethlehem, 480 Palestinian children as young as thirteen are currently being held in Israeli military prisons. Most of them have been convicted of participating in demonstrations or throwing stones. Media director of the organization Abdullah Al-Zagarhi emphasizes that the imprisonment of these children appears to be systematic:

The arrests are so large that we suspect that the Israeli defense forces are using this as an opportunity to train their soldiers. At least I do not understand why it takes hundreds of soldiers to arrest a few people.

"It appears to be a major campaign by the Israeli authorities. Since October last year, around 2050 children have been arrested and imprisoned. Some of the children have been released, others are under house arrest, while some are still in prison, "he says.

He is in regular contact with families who have had their minors imprisoned. "Such events do something to the whole dynamic of a family, not to mention what it does to each of the children who are exposed to the trauma of going through something like that. Many of the children are unable to continue their lives, and give up schooling when they are released from prison. "They are left with big gaps in education, which can linger with them for the rest of their lives," said Al-Zaghari.

Emergency. Dan Poraz, Secretary General of the Israeli Embassy in Oslo, told Ny Tid that Israel has made several improvements to meet the recommendations of the UNICEF reports.

"Among other things, Israel has set up military courts for young people as well as special arrest facilities for minors," says Poraz. "A reduction has also been introduced in the time a minor can be arrested before he or she is brought before a military court, and also an improvement in the legal process where parents are informed about the arrest of their children. The parents now also have the right to be present during the trial. You are obliged to make audiovisual recordings of the interrogation, and to conduct an investigation in a language that the child understands, "he continues. "In addition to these changes in the legislation, practical changes have also been made. Israeli police are now using an Arabic text to inform minors about their rights.
The Israeli state attaches great importance to strengthening and improving conditions for minors under the military justice system in the West Bank, while taking into account the unique circumstances and security situation in this area. This is reflected in both legislation and practice, "says Poraz.

He also says that the military prosecuting authority has begun to collect statistics on the number of minors who have been arrested and are being held in custody in the West Bank. He adds that the seriousness and ideological nature of crimes committed by Palestinian minors place challenging demands on the Israeli judicial system.

"Terrorist organizations work to spread hatred by indoctrinating children from an early age, and they use children to achieve their political goals. This leads to acts of violence, including throwing stones and firebombs at Israeli security forces and civilians. 70–75 per cent of criminal offenses committed by young people in the West Bank are of a violent nature. "Israel is constantly working to improve the conditions for arrested young people in the West Bank in a complex and challenging situation," says Poraz.

Several of my sources claim that the number of child arrests has increased since October last year – and they claim that as many as 480 children are currently imprisoned. Does the embassy have any comment on this? 

"Israel is complying with all its international obligations regarding the legal conditions for the prosecution of Palestinian minors. "These minors were arrested on the basis of their involvement in attacks on Israelis, mainly attempted murder with a knife," said Poraz.

What does the embassy think is needed to reduce the number of imprisoned children?

"Since the number of offenses of this type has multiplied since October last year, this also led to an increase in the number of imprisoned minors. When this wave of terrorist attacks ends, the number of imprisoned Palestinian minors will also decrease. "

Embassy of Israel:
"Biased image of Israel"

Ny Tid has been in contact with the Israeli embassy in Norway, and asked for a comment on the imprisonment of minors and the results of the UNICEF reports.

"It is not common practice for Israeli soldiers, security forces or the police to 'abuse' Palestinian youths during arrest or imprisonment. There have been individual cases of unacceptable abuse. Offenses should and must be investigated and punished, "emphasizes Beate H. Mikkelsen, communications manager at the Israeli embassy in Norway.

She believes she sees a tendency for Israel to be painted uncritically.

"It is not uncommon for serious allegations to be made against Israel without special evidence. "When this is done, it is often expected that the Israeli authorities will respond to what may be unfounded allegations," she says.

"Israeli authorities generally take charges seriously, and have as many as 1000 military lawyers, 300 staff and 700 reservists. On a general basis, we want to be able to respond to accusations, but it is difficult when we do not get enough information to find out what has happened – possibly if it has taken place at all, "she continues.

"We have the impression that such a frivolous approach is often accepted when it comes to Israel. It can easily create the impression that it is legitimate to make accusations about Israel without referring to credible sources or other evidence, where the immediate conclusion among many is that the accusations must be true – because they fit into a biased picture where Israel is always the abuser, "says Mikkelsen.