JERUSALEM, Sunday, February 21, 2021 (WAFA) – Israeli forces detained today evening two Palestinian minor brother, ages six and eight, in the town of Hizma, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, according to Hizma media center.

Israeli forces detained two brothers who were identified as Aws, 8, and Mohammed, 6, Ghazi Najeeb, while they were present near their home in the town of Hizma.

Israel has the dubious distinction of being the only country in the world that automatically and systematically detains and prosecutes children in military courts that lack fundamental fair trial rights and protections. Israel detains and prosecutes between 500 and 700 Palestinian children in military courts each year. Nearly three out of four Palestinian children detained by Israeli forces experiences some form of physical violence, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International Palestine (DCI-Palestine).

Defense for Children International - Palestine has called on Israeli authorities to take immediate action to release all Palestinian child detainees in Israeli prisons due to the rapid global spread of the COVID-19 virus.

 “Israeli authorities must take immediate action to release all Palestinian child detainees in Israeli prisons and detention centers due to the increasing vulnerability created due to the rapid global spread of the COVID-19 virus and to safeguard their right to life, survival, development, and health in accordance with international law,” said DCI-Palestine.

While international law demands that children only be detained as a measure of last resort, custodial pre-trial detention is the norm for Palestinian children detained by Israeli forces from the occupied West Bank.

T.R.