Palestine Center for Prisoners' Studies reported that the Israeli occupation authorities have arrested 1000 Palestinian children since the beginning of 2021; 73 of them are under the age of 14.

In a statement released on Sunday, it confirmed that the occupation authorities escalated the arrest of the Palestinian children during this year. 

The Head of Palestine Center Riyad Al-Ashqar noted that the occupation soldiers systematically target the children, as they receive direct instruction from their leaders, to deter them and prevent them from resisting the occupation. Hence, they lose their opportunities of learning.

He commented that all the children detainees face torture and repression since the very first moments of being arrested from their houses at night, or being kidnapped from the streets. They face humiliation, beating, and threats. 

The occupation forces arrest the injured children after being shot by snipers and force them to give certain confessions so they can receive medicine and medical care. They also arrested dozens of children with disabilities," he added.

He mentioned that the number of Palestinian children in the occupation prisons increased to 230, distributed in Majdi, Ofer, and Damon prisons.

Among those children, there are three detained in administrative detention without any real accusation, while 102 are sentenced to dozens of years, and others are still detained waiting for their trials," Al-Ashqar said.

He informed that those children are detained in quite harsh conditions as the occupation jailers treat them as terrorists, humiliate them, and continue to practice repression and oppression against them, and to prevent them from their basic rights.

The Israeli occupation lately legalized the violations against the children, as they amended the military order 1651 to lift protection from the children aged between 12-14," he commented.

Al-Ashqar said that the new amendment actually means the loss of the children (who are under the age of 14) of protection, which contradicts with the international laws and principles.

Palestine Center for Prisoners' Studies urged that the international community take responsibility for the Palestinian children, and what they are exposed to by the occupation. 

It also called for forcing the Israeli occupation to commit and respect all the conventions and laws put for the children, to reduce the unjustified detentions.