‘Israel’ imprisons Palestinian child with rare autoimmune disease without charge
Ramallah (QNN)- In a statement released on Thursday, Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) said that a 17-year-old Palestinian boy with a rare autoimmune disease is facing a dangerous health situation in Israeli prison.
Israeli occupation forces arrested Amal Nakhleh from his home around 3:30 a.m. on January 21, 2021, in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah and has been placed in administrative detention without any charge for six months, with the possibility of the duration being extended, said DCIP.
Amal suffers from myasthenia gravis, a rare chronic autoimmune, neuromuscular disease that causes muscle weakness, including in the muscles used for breathing and swallowing. His treatment requires ongoing medical treatment and that he takes medication regularly and without interruption, according to DCIP.
“Israeli authorities must either file charges against Palestinian children or release them,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program director at Defense for Children International – Palestine.
“Administrative detention must never be used to justify the detention of children and amounts to a clear violation of fundamental due process rights. Israeli authorities must immediately end the arbitrary detention of Palestinian children,” he added.
The statement also referred to a report by an Israeli hospital, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, that stated that the Palestinian teen requires medication four times a day.
According to DCIP, “‘Israel’ has the dubious distinction of being the only country in the world that systematically prosecutes between 500 and 700 children in military courts each year that lack fundamental fair trial rights.”
According to Palestinian estimates, there are 4,400 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, including 41 women, 170 children, and around 380 people held under Israel’s administrative detention policy, which allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial.
