On 16 August, a Palestinian taxi carrying six people, including two children, was hit and destroyed by a Molotov cocktail. The incident occurred in the West Bank close to the Israeli settlement block of Gush Etzion. All six occupants were injured, two seriously. On 26 August, three Israeli settler children, aged between 12 and 13 years, were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attack. One boy was conditionally released by a civilian judge on 29 August, and the other two were conditionally released the following day.
This case highlights the discriminatory nature
of the legal systems applied by the Israeli authorities in the West Bank.
Whilst settler children are processed through Israel’s juvenile justice system
and generally released on bail, Palestinian children accused of similar
offences are prosecuted in military courts which deny children bail in at least
87
percent of cases, and have a conviction rate of 99.74
percent.
A recent report by a group
of leading UK lawyers, including a former Attorney General and High Court Judge,
into Israel’s treatment of children held in military custody, confirmed that
under international law, no state is entitled to discriminate between those
over whom it exercises penal jurisdiction on the basis of race or nationality.
However, as the following table demonstrates, this is precisely what the
Israeli authorities are doing in relation to Palestinian and Israeli children
living in the West Bank.
#
|
Event
|
Civilian
juvenile justice system
|
Military court
system
|
1
|
Minimum age of criminal
responsibility.
|
12
|
12
|
2
|
Minimum age for a custodial
sentence.
|
14
|
12
|
3
|
Age of majority.
|
18
|
16-18
|
4
|
Legal right to have a parent
present during interrogation.
|
Generally yes
|
No
|
5
|
Legal right to have a lawyer
present during interrogation.
|
No
|
No
|
6
|
Legal right to have
interrogation audio-visually recorded.
|
Partial
|
No
|
7
|
Maximum period of detention
before being brought before a judge.
|
12-24 hours
|
4 days
|
8
|
Maximum period of detention
without access to a lawyer.
|
48 hours
|
90 days
|
9
|
Maximum period of detention
without charge.
|
40 days
|
188 days
|
10
|
Maximum period of time between
charge and trial.
|
6 months
|
2 years
|
11
|
Percentage of cases in which
bail is denied.
|
20%
|
87%
|
12
|
Percentage of cases in which a
custodial sentence is imposed.
|
6.5%
|
90%
|
Furthermore, according to Israeli Prison
Service statistics, over 50 percent of Palestinian children detained by the
Israeli military are transferred
to prisons inside Israel in violation of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva
Convention that prohibits such transfers. This violation was recently confirmed
in writing by the UK
Foreign Office, and attracts personal criminal liability for all those
involved in the transfer and detention process.
Finally, under international
law the Israeli military authorities are obliged to translate all military
orders affecting Palestinians into Arabic, but frequently fail to do so,
casting further doubt on the legal efficacy of the entire military system that
has now been operating in the West Bank for 45 years.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you
have any questions.
Best regards
Gerard
Gerard
Horton
International Advocacy Officer - Lawyer
Defence for Children International – Palestine Section
Tel: +972 2 242 75 30 ext. 103
Fax: +972 2 242 70 18
Email: gerard@dci-pal.org
International Advocacy Officer - Lawyer
Defence for Children International – Palestine Section
Tel: +972 2 242 75 30 ext. 103
Fax: +972 2 242 70 18
Email: gerard@dci-pal.org
