Former #Israeli soldiers disclose routine mistreatment of #Palestinian #children
Channel: Brian Willian
Date: 2012-08-26

Most of the soldiers have given testimonies anonymously. One, who spoke to the Guardian, said that he had been given no guidance during his training for military service on how to deal with minors. He said children were sometimes arrested and interrogated, not because they were suspected of an offense, but to try to elicit information about older family members or neighbors.

He had given a witness statement to Breaking the Silence because: "I thought that people who don't see this on an everyday basis should know what's going on." He said many Israelis were unwilling to acknowledge the reality of the military occupation in the West Bank. "It's very easy [for the Israeli public] to be completely detached. It's a hard thing to handle -- stuff like that being done in your name."

According to Gerard Horton, of Defense for Children International -- Palestine (DCI), the testimonies reflect and confirm a pattern of behavior uncovered by his organization's extensive research into the treatment of Palestinian children by the Israeli security forces.

DCI and other human rights organizations say Palestinian children are routinely arrested at night, handcuffed, blindfolded, mistreated and denied access to their parents or a lawyer.

He had given a witness statement to Breaking the Silence because: "I thought that people who don't see this on an everyday basis should know what's going on." He said many Israelis were unwilling to acknowledge the reality of the military occupation in the West Bank. "It's very easy [for the Israeli public] to be completely detached. It's a hard thing to handle -- stuff like that being done in your name."

According to Gerard Horton, of Defence for Children International -- Palestine (DCI), the testimonies reflect and confirm a pattern of behaviour uncovered by his organisation's extensive research into the treatment of Palestinian children by the Israeli security forces.