Peace in the Middle East

woodenspoon

I don’t normally dip into these threads, but my view is it won’t last because the hate is too deeply entrenched on both sides. There will be a lull, some hostages may be released, they will all then regroup and it will start again.

I agree. Bad feelings too entrenched and promulgated within schools. And Hamas WILL regroup. However Trump has given them due warning.

The whole of the Middle East has seen what was done to Palestine- and other countries like South Africa, and all those with many Muslims like Indonesia, and many more.

And they are so outraged by it all, and will support Palestine when it comes to it, 100%. And have control of Suez and many other important infrastructures that the West depends on.

I cannot find any reference to children taken to Israel, would be grateful for a link

Anniebach

No mention of child hostages in Israel in the ceasefire, prisoners in jail yes child hostages no.

Child prisoners.

Tomorrow's disaffected Palestinian militants.
War in the Middle East will never end.

Children in jail

Rarely or even never reported in Western Press. But there are so many reports from Amnesty International and other groups. 1000s of children, brutal capture, brutal conditions, no appeal, no Court, no justice.

defenceforchildren.org/hrc53-side-event-childhood-in-captivity-palestinian-children-arbitrarily-detained-in-israeli-prisons/

This one from Save the Children

Save the Children have issued a report on Palestinian children in Israeli military detention

Ramallah, 10 July – Palestinian children in the Israel military detention system face physical and emotional abuse, with four out of five (86%) of them being beaten, and 69% strip-searched, according to new research by Save the Children. Nearly half (42%) are injured at the point of arrest, including gunshot wounds and broken bones. Some report violence of a sexual nature and some are transferred to court or between detention centres in small cages, the child rights organisation said.

The new research comes as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 presents evidence today to the Human Rights Council on Palestinian children in detention. It is estimated that there are between 500 and 1000 children held in Israeli military detention each year.

Thank you I will search for info I cannot understand why the
children were in Israel, shot in Israel

I think that Hammas will release the Israeli hostages over the next 6 weeks.. Trump will be in power.. then Israel will completely crush what is left of Gaza..

and pity help those poor children

All these wars follow a similar pattern. Extreme destruction, outside players directing it, agreement reached when there’s a political will to do so, aid and rebuilds and lots of money to be made by those who win the contracts to rebuild. Meanwhile the poor people suffer wherever they are. Then, it all starts again elsewhere. America is always in the thick of it.

Claremont

The whole of the Middle East has seen what was done to Palestine- and other countries like South Africa, and all those with many Muslims like Indonesia, and many more.

And they are so outraged by it all, and will support Palestine when it comes to it, 100%. And have control of Suez and many other important infrastructures that the West depends on.

Of course they are outraged by it, but presumably don’t care a jot about all the families and young people tortured and murdered by hamas in Israel, as they were out on the streets marching and shouting slogans in favour of Gaza just days after that massacre.
Hamas and anyone who supports them have reaped what they sowed while again caring little for the other people of Gaza.
They could have surrendered at any time to save whole neighbourhoods and handed back the Israeli hostages.
Hamas, Hezbollah and their like are just the vilest human beings.

Save The Children spoke of Palestinian children held in detention, spoke of them throwing stones, the two they quoted
were male , 17 years of age, doubt they were hurling stones in
a pond

Anniebach

Save The Children spoke of Palestinian children held in detention, spoke of them throwing stones, the two they quoted
were male , 17 years of age, doubt they were hurling stones in
a pond

Also, they don’t just throw stones they use sling shots, an be fatal or cause awful injuries.

Yes Oreo , and children ? No

The middle east aren't outraged about what happens though. No country offered to take refugees. A handful of children were allowed to leave for medical reasons.

What about the wall between Palestine and Egypt? Why is this not mentioned more?

Palestinian children are taught at a very early age that Jews are evil.

The EU report clearly identifies evidence of anti-Jewish racism within the curriculum. It says of a chapter in one textbook that it

“sends the message that the Jews as a collective are dangerous and deceptive, and demonises them. It generates feelings of hatred towards Jews and…must be characterised as anti-Semitic.”

There had been no bombing before October 7th. So who started that?

How would any of you feel if your beloved granddaughter/son was at Glastonbury and a mob of murderous men came and inflicted that horrendous damage? Do you think they deserved that? Would you not hope your government would try to get them back if they'd been lucky enough to be taken hostage?

It strikes me as strange that we are opposed to a democratic country reacting to such horror .

Israel is a country which has women's rights, gay rights. It's a democracy. But somehow they are in the wrong.

So true ‘Louella* we hear constantly that the Israelis attacked
Palestine when Israel was formed, I have learned the Palestinians attacked Israel when Israel was formed

I agree with Oreo and Louella, although I think none of us like the destruction and death that’s been happening in Gaza. Especially the children, the innocent ones.

As for ‘children’ held by the Israelis, I have long known that these children are actually late teens, and were arrested because they were engaged in either terrorist behaviour, or using sling shots, bricks and other weapons to harm Israeli citizens, especially soldiers, many of whom are only 18/19 themselves.

On the other hand, Hamas terrorists murdered many children in cold blood on 07/10/23, and took others as hostages, including one nine month old baby.

The Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees has reported that more than 650 children from the West Bank and an unknown number of children from Gaza have been detained since October, a finding echoed by recent UN reports. Of these, around 250 are reportedly still in prison. The main alleged offence is stone-throwing, which can carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Firas* and Qusay*, both 17, are from the occupied West Bank and were detained in two different Israeli-run prisons before the war in Gaza started. They were released at the end of 2023 and spoke to Save the Children about the conditions in detention.

Qusay* said he saw a child with head injuries from a beating so severe that he would faint every time he tried to stand. He also said new detainees brought to the prison were as young as 12 and 13 years old:

“*The younger children were really scared and kept crying, I wanted to take care of them, but when I asked the prison guard to allow me to stay with them, I was violently beaten.*”

The Palestinian Commission a governmental prisoners' organisation set up in 1998, recently confirmed the spread of contageous skin diseases such as scabies among prisoners owing to a lack of hygiene and shared bedding. Firas* recalled using a lighter to burn ticks that would come near him, while Qusay* was released with tick bites covering his body.

Qusay* said: “[After the war started], they took everything. We didn’t have enough blankets and I shared my pillow with another prisoner. In the winter, they opened the windows so we would feel cold. One child prisoner had a severe rash, so we asked the guard to allow him to sit in the sun or clean his body. The guard said, ‘Call me back when he’s dead’.”

According to Israeli media reports, the recent increase in mass detentions has led to ‘intolerable’ overcrowding in Israeli prisons, with reports of widespread abuse including detainees deprived of medical treatment and kept in cages, and human rights organisations documenting cases of torture.

Firas* said the number of child detainees where he was held rose noticeably in the first five days after the war started on 7 October. Both children said conditions in detention deteriorated significantly after the war began. They said they would not be allowed to speak to or see their parents.

Firas* said: “The horrors we endured made me think that pre-war life in prison was heaven.”

Child psychologists are warning that children released from detention are increasingly struggling to recover, unable to cope with the shock experienced in prison and the fear of being re-arrested.

A psychologist from a partner of Save the Children said: “Their symptoms this time around are more intense and severe than in the past, partly because of the social conditions around them. The whole community is tense and stressed about what is happening. The children we talked to think a lot about their peers who are still in prison. They say, ‘we are safe now, but they are still not’. They feel guilty for being freed, and the constant fear of being re-arrested prevents them from thinking about the future. They can’t make decisions, they say, ‘Why would I think of tomorrow if they will re-arrest me?’ Their families describe them as ‘frozen’.”

With legal and family access to Palestinians in Israeli-run prisons further restricted since October, testimonies from children and adults released from detention are some of the few available sources on the conditions faced.

Save the Children’s Regional Director for the Middle East, Jeremy Stoner, said: ‘We’ve been working alongside our partner on the ground and speaking to hundreds of former child detainees in the past years, and we have never seen such devastation and hopelessness. These children are trapped, unable to move or see the sun, forced into crowded cells with appalling, unsanitary conditions, and subject to severe abuse and violence. The children we spoke to have endured horrors an adult should never witness, let alone a child.

“The abuse and ill-treatment of Palestinian children must end. The decades-old protection crisis for Palestinian children can no longer be ignored. For too long, the Israeli occupation has severely impacted the lives of Palestinian children.”

Save the Children is calling for the UK Government to support an immediate moratorium on Israeli military authorities arresting, detaining and prosecuting children, and for the immediate release of all children arbitrarily detained.

Save the Children has been providing essential services and support to Palestinian children since 1953.

Save the Children has been working with a partner in the West Bank for 10 years to provide rehabilitative support to children following their release from Israeli-run prisons. This includes psychosocial support, vocational assessments and trainings as well as remedial sessions for those who missed out on education. We are also assisting children from Gaza who were detained during the war and have been subsequently released with psychosocial support and referral to medical services.

Notes to Editor:

Since the beginning of the war Israeli forces have detained more than 9,400 Palestinians from the West Bank in addition to thousands other from Gaza whose exact numbers are not confirmed. We know from our latest research before the war that most children in the military detention system face appalling emotional and physical abuse, including 86% of them reporting being beaten by Israeli authorities in detention, and 69% reporting having experienced sexual violence and abuse.
A 2022 research by Save the Children found that children in Israeli prisons are routinely denied their right to contact with their families at every stage of the detention process. Save the Children research in 2020, 2022 and 2023 found alarming levels of abuse and ill-treatment of Palestinian children held in the Israeli military detention system, echoing findings from UNICEF and Palestinian organisations.

Sorry, that’s too much to read.
Perhaps it could be précised.

Claremont Thank you for that disturbing report. It should be read by the above and other posters.
Children are children if they are under 18, and even if they are 6’ tall, they are still children.

Far too much and I do not see 17 years as a child

No read it Maddy please. It won’t take more than 5 minutes.

Horrendous conditions, many much younger than teenage, physical and sexual abuse.

Truly worth reading in full.

thankyou Claremont.. thank God for Save The Children

17 year olds are children here Annie whatever you think.