Israel revises children’s arrest tactics, but violations continue

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Israel’s army is introducing reforms to how it arrests Palestinian children in the West Bank, the UN Children's Fund said. The move comes amid international criticism after revelations of widespread mistreatment of detained Palestinian children.

United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement that Israel was “taking steps” to address some of the problems outlined in a report released by the organization back in March. The report revealed that the Palestinian children detained by the Israeli military in the West Bank were “systematically” mistreated. 

Seven months after the report was released reports of violations are ongoing, reports UNICEF, despite the 38 recommendations issued along with the report that would help to bring the treatment of children in line with international standards.  

But, UNICEF noted that Israel had moved forward on the issue and is currently testing some of the newly reformed measures. The first measure deals with Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) issuing summons for children instead of making night arrests at home, “which can be traumatic for children and their siblings,” UNICEF said. 

The other measure piloted has reduced the time a child can be detained before appearing in front of a military court for the first time. “The new order reduces the time from four days to 24 hours for children aged 12-13, and from four to two days for children aged 14-15. There is no change for children aged 16-17,” UNICEF stated.