Human Rights NGO: ‘Israel’ arrested at least 17,000 Palestinian minors since 2000
Many others under the age of 10 were arrested as well.

Occupied Palestine (QNN)- A human rights NGO stated that the occupation state has arrested at least 17,000 Palestinian minors (between 12 and 18 years old) since 2000.
The head of the Committee of Prisoners and Former Prisoners, Qadri Abu Baker, said that the occupation sate continues to hold nearly 200 minors in Ofer, Megiddo, and Damon military jails in very harsh and inhumane conditions. The children are subjected to torture and humiliation, which violates international human rights standards.
Abu Baker said in a press statement on Saturday that one day before the Palestinian Child Day, the occupation state has committed unprecedented violations against Palestinian children, which constitutes a blot on the United Nations and the international human rights organizations that failed to provide minimal protection for Palestinian children.
The statement added that since 2000, the occupation state has arrested at least 17,000 Palestinian minors between the ages of 12 and 18. Furthermore, many arrests were reported for children under the age of 10.
Abu Baker explained that Jerusalem has the highest number of jailed children as dozes of them get arrested and illegally held by the Israelis on a daily basis. House arrests, fines, and deportation are also common as punitive measures taken against Palestinian children in Jerusalem.
He stated that targeting children in Jerusalem is a part of the Israeli policy to isolate the holy city from the other Palestinian cities in order to end its connection with the Palestinian heritage and culture and judaize it.
Abu Baker called on the UN Secretary-General, the Human Rights Council, and all international organizations, especially the UNICEF and Amnesty International, to quick and firm action in order to pressure the occupation state to release all prisoners, especially children, whose lives are in danger.