Stolen Youth: The Politics of Israel's Detention of Palestinian Children

212 Pages·2004·0.98 MB·English

by  Catherine Cook

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Stolen Youth
The Politics of Israel’s Detention
of Palestinian Children
Catherine Cook, Adam Hanieh and Adah Kay
P
Pluto Press
LONDON • STERLING, VIRGINIA
in association with
DCI
Defence for Children International
Palestine Section
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First published 2004 by
Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
and 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166–2012, USA
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © Catherine Cook, Adam Hanieh and Adah Kay 2004
The right of Catherine Cook, Adam Hanieh and Adah Kay to be
identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 0 7453 2162 3 hardback
ISBN 0 7453 2161 5 paperback
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Cook, Catherine, 1971-
Stolen youth : the politics of Israel's detention of Palestinian
children / Catherine Cook, Adam Hanieh, and Adah Kay.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0–7453–2162–3 (hbk) –– ISBN 0–7453–2161–5 (pbk)
1. Juvenile detention––Israel. 2. Political prisoners––West Bank.
3. Political prisoners––Gaza Strip. 4. Children, Palestinian
Arab––Crimes against––Israel. 5. Children, Palestinian Arab––Legal
status, laws, etc.––Israel. I. Hanieh, Adam, 1972– II. Kay, Adah,
1943– III. Title.
HV9192.2.A5 C66 2004
365'.48'095694––dc22
2003019586
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Designed and produced for Pluto Press by
Chase Publishing Services, Fortescue, Sidmouth, EX10 9QG, England
Typeset from disk by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton, England
Printed and bound in the European Union by
MPG Books, Bodmin, England
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Contents
List of Figures and Tables vii
Preface viii
Glossary xii
Part I Framework and Context
1 Introduction 3
Child Prisoners: a Map through the System 5
Child Detention: Context and Logic 7
2 The Political Context 12
Phases of Control 14
History Foretold 15
Setting the Scene – Seven Years of ‘Remote’ Control 17
The September 2000 Intifada 19
3 Israel’s System of Control 23
Military Orders 23
The Military Court System 25
Court Sentencing 29
Information Gathering, Collaborators and Informants 30
4 International Law and Child Detention 35
The Legal Instruments 39
Definitions of Torture 45
Part II Arrest through Incarceration
5 Arrest and Transfer 51
How Israel Arrests Children 52
Transfer to Detention and Interrogation Facilities 62
6 Interrogation and Detention 65
Detention Centres 67
Interrogation and Detention Testimonies 73
Access to Legal Assistance 76
The Systematic Violation of Children’s Rights 77
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vi Stolen Youth
7 Imprisonment 83
Trends in Sentencing 84
Setting the Scene: The Prisons 85
Conditions of Detention 86
Family and Lawyer Visits 97
Collective Action in Prisons 100
A History of Abuse: The First Intifada and the Oslo Years 102
Part III Analysis and Conclusions
8 State Violence and Discrimination 109
International Law and Institutionalised Discrimination 109
A System of State-Sanctioned Violence 120
9 Psychological and Social Impacts of Prison and
Torture 124
Trauma and Torture 126
Children Facing Extreme Violence and Conflict 128
Coping Strategies 132
Returning to Society 135
10 Myths and Politics – The Foundation of Israel’s
Impunity 142
Applicability of International Law in the OPT 143
The Security Discourse 148
Problems in the Human Rights Framework 158
11 Conclusion 162
Israel’s Human Rights Record 162
Moving Past Rhetoric Towards Enforcement 164
Resisting Occupation 168
Index 191
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List of Figures and Tables
FIGURES
6.1 Detention and Interrogation Facilities Imprisoning
Palestinian Children 70
6.2 Israeli Position Abuse 79
TABLES
4.1 Overview of Rights and Principles 36
6.1 Interrogation Centres 68
6.2 Shabak Interrogation Centres 69
7.1 Breakdown of Sentence Lengths 1999–2002 84
7.2 Characteristics of Prisons 87
7.3 Main Problems by Prison 88
BOXES
3.1 What Lawyers Say About the Military Court System 30
4.1 Key Terms Related to Human Rights and Humanitarian
Law 38
8.1 Discrimination in Sentencing 114
vii
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Preface
In October 2002, the authors of this book met at the headquarters of
Defence for Children International/Palestine Section (DCI/PS) in
Ramallah to discuss projects in support of Palestinian children’s
rights. Following this discussion, we decided to move forward on the
idea of a book on Palestinian child prisoners that DCI/PS had been
considering for some time.
Although drawing on the work of many local and international
human rights organisations, the authors have attempted to present
an analysis of how the practice of incarceration – particularly of
children – fits into the overall system of occupation. This book thus
approaches the issue of child prisoners from a political perspective.
We examine the central role the arrest and detention of Palestinian
children plays within the overall strategy of the Israeli occupation.
EachoftheauthorswasastaffmemberorvolunteerwithDCI/PSat
somestagebetween1999and2003.Duringthatperiodwedeveloped
alevelofexpertiseontheissuethroughresearchandadvocacywork
and, most important, by learning from the experience of our
colleagues,manyofwhomwereformerchildprisonersthemselves.
The work of DCI/PS began in 1992 as a local response to the gross
and systematic violations of Palestinian children’s rights resulting
from Israel’s occupation. A local human rights activist, Rifat Kassis,
established a committee as part of the developing international child
rights movement and through a belief in the importance of bringing
the international movement to the local level. In June 1992, the local
committee was granted approval to establish an independent section
of the Geneva-based Defence for Children International, with a
mandate to promote and defend children’s rights in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories.
Initially DCI/PS focused on offering legal aid to Palestinian child
political prisoners, a response to the waves of child arrests that char-
acterised the first Intifada. However, it was clear that a broader
approach to the issues was needed, as the impact of imprisonment
on children extended beyond the period of detention. Consequently,
in 1994 the organisation launched a counselling project to work with
released detainees and assist their reintegration into Palestinian
society. Since then DCI/PS has complemented these programmes
viii
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Preface ix
with wide-ranging advocacy efforts designed to increase international
awareness and mobilise opposition to Israel’s practice of imprisoning
Palestinian children.
In September 2001 DCI/PS launched an international campaign,
Freedom Now!, demanding the release of all Palestinian child political
prisoners.The campaign has received broad international support
from organisations and individuals around the world. This book
should be viewed as a continuation of the basic aims of the campaign:
to raise international awareness and understanding of the issue of
Palestinian child political prisoners and secure their release.
The arrest of children within the context of military occupation
prompted DCI/PS to adopt a comprehensive approach to the issue of
Palestinian child rights, since imprisonment is not the sole trauma
that Palestinian children will sustain during their childhoods. The
very poor child rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
(OPT) is a function of a political situation that results in simultane-
ous violations of children’s rights on a daily basis and a low level of
awareness and enforcement of children’s rights, locally and interna-
tionally. Accordingly, as support for the organisation increased, its
work expanded to include other spheres: documenting and
addressing violations of children’s rights on all levels and by all
actors, working directly with children to empower them and provide
a venue for their voices to be heard, building awareness among the
local community of children’s rights, developing the capacity of local
professionals through training, working to institutionalise child
rights within the legal system of the Palestinian Authority, and
engaging in advocacy efforts at the international level.
This book is a culmination of, and testament to, the work of
DCI/PS. At present, DCI/PS is the sole Palestinian child rights organ-
isation and the only human rights group working specifically to offer
legal advice and support for Palestinian children in detention. Much
of the information and many of the case studies drawn upon in this
book are based upon DCI/PS documentation.
For these and many other reasons, the authors owe a deep debt of
gratitude to the tireless work of DCI/PS staff over the last ten years.
This book would not have been possible without these individuals,
in particular, George Abu Zulof, Nasser Atallah, Ayed Abueqtaish,
Riad Za’qiq, Hashem Abu Mari’a, Museika Obeid, Khaled Quzmar,
Renad Musleh, Sanaa Anfous, Samah Darwish, Ayyad Wafeq, Cat
Hunter, Annelien Groten, Daoud Dirawi, Younis Daragmeh, Adnan
Rabi and Mohammed Na’amneh. DCI/PS child rights attorney Daoud
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x Stolen Youth
Dirawi was at the forefront of the authors’ minds while drafting the
manuscript, as he was arrested, interrogated and severely tortured
by Israeli authorities in February 2003. As of November 2003, he
remained imprisoned without charge or trial under an administrative
detention order.
It is hoped that the information and analysis presented in this
book will help raise awareness of the extremely difficult circum-
stances in which DCI/PS staff operate. All of the royalties from this
book go towards supporting the work of DCI/PS in defending
Palestinian child detainees and working with children who have
been released from prison.
Many other organisations have offered valuable support and advice
in the writing of this book. Staff of Addameer Prisoners Support and
Human Rights Association, one of the main organisations represent-
ing Palestinian detainees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, read earlier
chapters of this book and agreed to be interviewed, as did the Israeli
organisation, Hamoked. The Israeli Information Centre for Human
Rights in the Occupied Territories, B’Tselem, and Physicians for
Human Rights Israel provided useful background information. The
Gaza Community Mental Health Programme provided helpful access
to their research on the psycho-social effects of imprisonment.
Much of the information about the experience of lawyers working
within the military court system and with Palestinian detainees is
drawn from interviews conducted with both Palestinian and Israeli
lawyers. These lawyers work in extremely difficult conditions and
this book is in part testament to their efforts. In particular, the
authors would like to thank the attorneys Khaled Quzmar, Sahar
Francis, Tamar Pelleg, Leah Tsemel and Andre Rosenthal for their
time and patience. DCI/PS attorney Khaled Quzmar and Addameer
attorney Sahar Francis spent many hours assisting the authors in
understanding the complex and confusing system of military courts
and orders.
The authors would like to thank the many individuals who read
and contributed useful suggestions to earlier versions of the
manuscript. Lori Allen, Roberta Cecchetti, Hanan Elmasu, Nadya
Engler, Lisa Hajjar, Emma Hanieh, Ala Jaradat, Stephanie Koury,
Cailin Mackenzie, Miryam Rashid and Omar Yassin all provided
valuable input and support during the writing of this book. Peter
Huff-Rouselle generously donated his time to edit the manuscript
prior to submission to the publishers. We would also like to thank
Bailasan and the Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem who supplied
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Preface xi
us with sketches and maps. While greatly appreciative of the
assistance of these and others, the authors assume full responsibility
for any errors.
Each of us has personally experienced daily life under occupation
and it has left an indelible mark on our lives. This experience has
increased our awareness of the challenges facing Palestinian civilians,
particularly children, and engendered an immeasurable level of
respect for Palestinians who continue to struggle for freedom with
dignity in spite of repeated assaults on their humanity. We hope that
this book will both contribute to the historical record and increase
wider understanding of the just cause of the Palestinian struggle and
the enormous obstacles Palestinian people face on a daily basis. The
authors are absolutely convinced that the Palestinian people will one
day triumph and be free.