Press Release

An Oppressive Rule and a Bewildered Child!

(Translated)

The central court of the Jewish entity sentenced the Palestinian child Ahmad Manasrah (aged 14) to 12 years in prison in additional to imposing a fine of 180,000 Shekels (approximately 47,000 USD). That was after being found guilty of attempting to undertake a stabbing operation on the 12^th of October 2015 in the usurped Pisgat Ze’ev’ neighborhood, alongside his uncle Hasan Manasrah, who was martyred in that attempted stabbing. That was whilst the child, Ahmad Manasrah, was badly injured after the occupation forces ran him over and was then exposed to threats and verbal abuse with horrid cursing after being injured whilst urgent medical attention was not provided to him.

Approximately 700 Palestinian children are arrested and interrogated every year and most of them are imprisoned. The Palestinian Centre of Human Rights stated that since the year 2000, more than 9000 children have been arrested by the Jewish occupation forces. The Palestinian Children’s Defense Movement indicated according to recent statistics that 1260 children had been arrested during 2016, 330 of which include children between the ages of 12-15 years.

It is worth mentioning that the general prosecutor in the Jewish entity and central court delayed sentencing Manasrah until he had reached age 14 as the law states that children under the age of 14 are not allowed to be incarcerated. That was so the sentence could be implemented practically upon him. The court did not take into consideration the serious injuries he sustained or the verbal abuse and assault that he had been exposed to, his poor treatment in the hospital or scream tactics during the interrogation. The issue of Manasrah’s arrest and the harsh treatment that he was exposed to in the occupier’s prisons, in addition to the unjust sentence against him, has shed light upon the hundreds of detained children subjected to arrest and detention within the occupier’s prisons and who are held in terrible conditions. That is because he (Manasrah) is only one of 400 of the children of Palestine detained in the Jewish entity’s prisons who are subjected to routine torture, bad treatment, solitary confinement during interrogation, being beaten and kicked by the military occupier officers, threatened with sexual assault and other forms of disgusting treatment which are contrary to what they call the “International law and Children’s Convention”. Based on witness testimonies from the detained Palestinian children, the Children’s Defense Movement obtained information that the interrogators and occupier soldiers use threat tactics, either with death, like what happened to the child Ibrahim al-Titi (15 years old) from Al-Fuwar camp in Hebron (Al-Khalil), or with the violation of the (child’s) honour, like what took place with the child Wajeeh Al-Khateeb (15 years old) from the Qalandia camp. That doesn’t even include the beating, insults and screaming that occurs during the interrogation. Additionally, the occupier court in Ofer recently extended the detention of Osamah Zidat (14 years) until the 21^st of this November under the excuse and pretext of completing “legal procedures” whilst his family is not permitted to visit him since his arrest…

O (so-called) “civilised or advanced” world! For how long will these human violations go on for? For how long will you look over and ignore the oppression and the oppressors?! Children, at the age of blossoms, are having their innocence violated and are being flung into the depths of prisons without mercy or justice. That is whilst the western “civilised” world watches on and does not consider them to be children that the children’s or (even) human rights apply upon, those rights which they don’t stop babbling about when it is related to the matter of the implementation of the Islamic rules!

O Muslims: Verily, Palestine and its stationed people are a trust upon your necks. This child Ahmad and others like him are a living example of your betrayal. So, for how long will this betrayal and abandoning go on for until you bring victory (Nusrah) for its people, women and children?! How long will you be blind to this terrorizing mental and physical torture against the young and innocent! You have even fallen short in speaking out against it and we don’t even hear words of condemnation or grief in relation to these despicable acts any longer! So what more are you waiting for to happen? For the fox to come to your place of honour and eat your grapes if you still have anything left! And you, O officers and soldiers of the armies, until when will you be held up in your barracks, incapable of supporting your brothers? Does not what is happening call you to deploy?!

﴿إِن يَنصُرْكُمُ اللَّـهُ فَلَا غَالِبَ لَكُمْ ۖ وَإِن يَخْذُلْكُمْ فَمَن ذَا الَّذِي يَنصُرُكُم مِّن بَعْدِهِ ۗ وَعَلَى اللَّـهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ﴾

“If Allah should aid you, no one can overcome you; but if He should forsake you, who is there that can aid you after Him? And upon Allah let the believers rely” [Aali ‘Imraan: 160].

Women’s Section

in the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir

-Recording of Press Release-