In the margins: Thoughts about the situation – why do they throw stones?
Every week for a year we met dozens of Palestinian boys aged 13-18, youngsters just like any other children their age. Yet their hands and feet are cuffed, they are accused of throwing stones and Molotov Cocktails and even graver charges, and one after another they are sentenced to many months in jail.
We often wondered what brings ordinary boys to depart from their routine, confront armed and threatening soldiers and risk their own and their families' future.
Surely they were not born violent, even though some did throw stones and confront the security forces. The only conceivable explanation is the reality of the Palestinian children's lives. They have never experienced life without occupation.
From their earliest childhood they have experienced passing through checkpoints, their parents' humiliation, the takeover of their land, soldiers' invasion of their houses in the middle of the night and the arrest of their relatives. They meet soldiers at the entrance to their schools, next to the mosque and in their yards.
The fear and humiliation and maybe even the desire to protect their parents, who appear to accept the situation, lead to the desire to be a "man," to be a "brave fighter" and to pay the price.
Appendix A - Order regarding Security Provisions
[Consolidated Version] (Judea and Samaria) (No. 1651), 5770-2009
Article G – Adjudicating Juveniles (Temporary Order)
Commencement and effect
135. ( A) This article shall enter into effect on 29.09.2009 and shall remain in effect for one year from the day of its commencement.
(B) The provisions of this article shall not apply to a proceeding in which an indictment was filed prior to the commencement of this article.
Definitions
136. In this article –
“Military juvenile court” – a military court of the first instance, with a single judge presiding who is a juvenile judge, or a panel in which the presiding judge is a juvenile judge.
“Minor” – a person under the age of 16; and in regard to a suspect and a defendant, this includes a person who is under the age of 16 on the day the indictment is filed against him.
Appointment of juvenile judge
137. The president of the Military court of appeals shall assign judges – from among the military court judges of the first instance who have received appropriate training to serve as juvenile judges, in a format to be approved by the president of the Military court of appeals – to serve as juvenile judges for a period to be determined.
Judging a minor
138. ( A) Notwithstanding the provisions of any law and security legislation, an offense in which a minor is charged shall be adjudicated before a military juvenile court.
(B) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to proceedings of arrest and release under Article C of Chapter C of this order.
Adjudicating a minor and an adult together
139. ( A) A minor may not be tried together with a person who is not a minor, except with the consent of the chief military prosecutor in the Military Prosecution or of someone duly empowered by him.
(B) If a minor is charged together with a person who is not a minor before a military court that is not a military juvenile court, the court is empowered, after hearing the parties, to adjudicate the case; if the military court so decides, it shall treat the minor as if it were a military juvenile court and it shall have the powers of a military juvenile court provided under this article; if the military court decides not to adjudicate the case, it shall order a separate trial for the minor and transfer him to a military juvenile court.
Minor who is brought to a court that is not a juvenile court.
140. ( A) If a military court that is not a military juvenile court finds, at any stage prior to the verdict, that the defendant is a minor, it shall transfer the case to a military juvenile court, and the latter shall adjudicate the case as if it had been brought before it from the outset, and it is empowered to hear the case from the stage it had reached in the previous court.
(B) If the military court sees special circumstances that justify not transferring the case to a military juvenile court as stipulated in Subsection ( A), it is empowered to continue to adjudicate it, provided that from this point onward it shall act as if it were a military juvenile court, and it shall have all of the powers of a military court provided under this article.
(C) If a military court, which is not a military juvenile court, finds after the verdict that the defendant is a minor, it shall continue to adjudicate the case as if it were a military juvenile court, and it shall have all of the powers of a military court provided under this article.
Adult who is brought before military juvenile court
141. If a military juvenile court finds during the course of the trial that the defendant is not a minor, it is empowered to continue to adjudicate the case as if it were not a military juvenile court or to transfer it to a military court, and the latter shall adjudicate it as if it had been brought before it from the outset, and it is empowered to adjudicate it from the stage it had reached in the military juvenile court.
Maintaining validity
142. A decision or ruling of a court shall not be deemed invalid solely because the defendant, due to his age, should have been tried before a different court; however, if a grave miscarriage of justice resulted from trying a defendant before a court that is not appropriate for his age, the president of the Military court of appeals is empowered to order that a court he so assigns shall conduct a retrial of the case. And the provisions of sections 157 through 162 shall apply, with the necessary changes according to the case.
Separating minors
143. ( A) The military juvenile court shall conduct its hearings, as far as possible, in a place where other trials are not being conducted, or in the same place but not at the same time.
(B) As far as possible, minor defendants shall not be brought to or from the court together with non-minor defendants, and shall not be held together there.
Time for indicting a minor
144. A person shall not be indicted for an offense which he committed as a minor if two years have passed since [the offense] was committed, except with the consent of the chief military prosecutor in the Military Prosecution or someone duly empowered by him.
Indicating age of the minor
145. The indictment against a minor shall indicate, if possible to ascertain, the minor’s date of birth.
Defense
146. ( A) The military juvenile court is empowered to appoint a defense attorney for the minor if it believes this would be in the minor’s best interest.
(B) Subject to the provision in Subsection ( A), the provisions of Article B of Chapter D shall apply to the appointment of a defense attorney under this section.
(C) If the minor does not have a defense attorney, the military juvenile court shall help him to examine the witnesses.
Parent’s status
147. ( A) A military juvenile court is empowered to order, at any time, that the minor’s parent be present in the court.
(B) Any request the defendant is entitled to submit to the military juvenile court may also be submitted on his behalf by the minor’s parent or by a person the court has approved for this, and they are entitled to examine witnesses and present arguments in the minor’s stead or together with him.
Report
( A) If a minor is convicted, the military juvenile court is empowered, if it deems it necessary for the purpose of sentencing the minor, to demand a report in writing from an officer of the Social Welfare Affairs staff at the Civil Administration or from a person appointed by him for this purpose, regarding all of the following, to the extent that it is possible to determine:
(1) the minor’s past;
(2) the minor’s family situation, with complete details, as far as possible, about his parents, spouse, children, brothers and sisters;
(3) the minor’s economic situation;
(4) the health situation of the minor and of the members of his family;
(5) special personal circumstances – if such exist – that led him to commit the offense.
(B) In the report stipulated in Subsection ( A), the person who prepares the report is empowered to advise the court regarding the chances of rehabilitating the minor.
(C) A copy of the report in accordance with this subsection shall not be provided to the parties in the case or to their representatives unless the court instructs otherwise. However, the prosecutor and the minor’s defense attorney are entitled to examine these documents in the court file.
Detention centers for minors
149. ( A) A minor shall not be held in detention or imprisonment except in a separate prison or jail facility for minors, or in a wing of a general prison or jail facility provided that the wing is completely separate, designated for minors only and without any access between it and the other wings of the prison or jail facility or their inhabitants.
(B) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection ( A), it is permissible to hold a minor at a police station, provided that he is held separately and there is no contact between him and non-minor suspects or prisoners.
Appendix B - The Palestinian families speak out
"…Within a month, between 30-35 children from Abu Dis were arrested on charges of throwing stones and Molotov Cocktails. If each child threw an average of two Molotov Cocktails then between 60-70 were thrown, besides stones, and to this day I have heard of no soldier or vehicle harmed by it. It doesn't make sense."
Arrest and interrogation
"At 2 a whole battalion of soldiers arrived, knocked at the neighbors and then our door barbarically, broke windows, did not identify themselves and said they were taking the child to Ma'ale Adumim…
I think the Army wants to mess up our children's lives and instigate conflicts between the clans in Abu Dis, because they make our children incriminate each other and distract us from the main issue, which is the occupation and resisting it… We are always crying, I cannot concentrate at work, it is as if life stopped there… He is missing a year of school, he is only in the 10th grade."
"He was arrested at 2 am. Soldiers came in without knocking, I woke to the sound of the soldiers and they asked me to wake up all my children. A soldier looked at all of them and asked their names. I indicated each one and said his name and then he said: 'I want M.' I asked why and he said he threw stones with other children. The commander explained they were taking him for interrogation, he did not say where, he did not identify himself. The next day I found out he was detained in Offer… I was not present at the investigation, I don't know if it was by the law… He missed a year of school and in jail he does nothing but eat and sleep… When he calls we are afraid to ask questions in case they are listening so they won't harass him."
"We heard from journalists he was tortured. We have no idea who interrogated him, we were not present at the interrogation and nobody invited us to be there. His trial has been postponed for three months…"
"At 11 pm seven jeeps came, soldiers knocked on the door wildly, we opened it for them and they started taking the kids out of the house in the middle of the night and arrested M. who was asleep in his bed. They didn't say where they were taking him and they didn't let us out of the house. For three days we didn't know where he was. We found out through the 'Prisoners Club.' Even the lawyer was not at the interrogation. He doesn't know what happened, who interrogated him and how."
"The boy, 14, confessed in the interrogation. We don't know whether under pressure, I imagine trauma. A 14-year-old boy taken at night, interrogated when he was tired and scared, out of fear and threats and stories that other children incriminated them and they confess. I know for sure he did not throw stones. My son goes to the school where I teach and he is always under my supervision."
"The boy was arrested at the funeral of a boy from the village who was run over by a settler. After the funeral they threw stones at a military base. His brother went to the police (after he was arrested) but they didn't let him be present at the interrogation…"
"… We don't know what really happened in the interrogation or who interrogated him or how. We still haven't visited him and we could not have a decent conversation with him. The last court hearing was 21 days ago and since then we know nothing about him."
Loss of parental authority
"…I really want to know how he was interrogated and what they did to him. I know that now I have to do a lot to restore his life and set him back on track. I don't know how the detention is going to affect him emotionally.
It scares me that he will come out full of hatred and anger at the other people…"
"I think my boy goes after the other boys his age and they play heroism games, who can throw stones at soldiers, who has the nerve to go up to the fence… M., 16, was not allowed to go up to the fence. He was arrested there with three other children. We have land near the fence and it is natural for the boy to be there…"
"We feel emptiness and loss… Our biggest fear is how he is going to behave after he gets out. He feels he grew up and can decide for himself what he wants to do."
"I have been very irritable since his arrest… I think he went up to the fence so he would not go to school, he wants to work because a lot of children his age from the village work already and help their families… But we want him to go to school, thank God, we manage."
"Our children don't come back to us children but men, who do not accept what we say and think they know everything."
After the arrest
"… I have five daughters and five sons. They cannot get over this. We think about him every day. They want to make a criminal out of my son and accuse him of something he didn't do. My kids barely manage to study…"
"… his arrest traumatized his siblings. The two-year-old talks about how they arrested him and to this day he cannot forget even the smallest detail, and they are all in constant fear of any knock on the door, which makes them jump and think they are coming to arrest another one…"
"… I support my son and I think he didn't do it. They are accusing him of making a Molotov Cocktail, I don't know how to do that. We are very worried about him… We think about him all the time, when we eat, day and night. My mother couldn't come today because she can't stand it, to see him in jail…"
"His arrest affected the whole family. He had a special connection with his brothers, his little brother keeps pointing at his picture and misses him. We are in very bad shape. How do you think a mother feels when her son is behind bars? I don't know if he ate, if he is sick, if he isn't cold."
"They took him at night. We haven't visited him yet and I only see him at the trial. My son denied the charges and now they are bringing witnesses, three children, his friends. We only talk to him in court."
"… the cruel way he was arrested made our six-year-old daughter jump every time there's a knock on the door because they came twice. The first time they didn't arrest him because they said they were looking for M.M., but my boy is M.K. They came back a week later and insisted on arresting him. I think they didn't manage to find M.M. We have three boys and two girls. Every time we do something as a family we think of him and cry… Life does not go on naturally…"
"This child in particular left a void at home. Every night we remember him and talk about him. Every moment we remember, at every meal, everything we do together at home, the emotional impact is very deep and traumatic… We heard the lawyer's version, to this day we have not visited him and have not heard him tell his version…"
"The village has no therapeutic frameworks for these children. The older boy who is at home now is scared. Another one is in school. There is nowhere for me to go to get help for the children."
"He has another brother and two sisters at home. His brother is one year younger than him. We have a feeling of emptiness, that there is a void at home, a feeling of loss. His brother refuses to sleep in their room alone and does not let anybody in the house touch his brother's things. His uncles also feel his absence deeply. He was the family dynamo and his absence is felt…
Appendix C - Synopsis of testimonies
given in the trial of A.S. From Abu Dis, aged 16 at the time the alleged offenses were committed, (Case 4701/10)
Primary examination of witness for the prosecution Y.A. by military prosecutor Capt. Shahar Erez.
Q: What were you arrested for?
Witness: I swear I don't know.
Q: During your questioning at the police did they tell you what the suspicions against you were?
Witness: Yes. They told me about it was about a fire bottle but it's not true.
Q: Before the questioning began, who was with you in the interrogation room?
Witness: When do you mean? Nobody was there.
Q: When you were questioned there were other people with you in the interrogation room. Who were they?
Witness: Nobody. Just the interrogator.
Q: Was your father in the interrogation room?
Witness: For two minutes and he left before the interrogations began.
Q: Do you remember what you and the interrogator and your father talked about?
Witness: He did not interrogate me and he did not interrogate my father.
Q: Did your father talked to anyone? Did he talk in the interrogation room before he left?
Witness: Yes. He told me "don't admit to things you didn't do."
Q: Did your father talk to the interrogator?
Witness: He told him "don't hit him."
Q: Did the interrogator say anything to your father?
Witness: He said "get out."
Q: And before that?
Witness: That's what happened. My father said to the interrogator "don't hit" and the interrogator said "get out."
Q: Can you state your full name?
Witness: The witness states his full name.
Q: Do you have a nickname?
Witness: No.
Q: What did you say in your interrogation about the suspicion of a fire bottle?
Witness: He started to pressure me. He threatened that if not he would hit me. So I had to tell him I did throw it. But that is not true.
Q: When did he threaten you?
Witness: From the beginning when we started the interrogation.
Q: What did you tell the interrogator you did?
Witness: The interrogator started to ask me if I want to say I'm sorry and that I was scared at the time, so I said I was sorry.
Q: What did you tell the interrogator you did?
Witness: He asked me and I answered yes to everything.
Q: Do remember what he asked you?
Witness: At first he asked me if I throw fire bottles and I answered him no. He started with the threats and then I said yes.
Q: I would like to refresh the witness's memory about his statement on November 4, 2010
(the translator reads to the defendant).
Witness: Wait, wait, that's not true. The interrogator showed me that page and told me to sign it and the page is in Hebrew and I cannot read Hebrew.
Q: What language was the interrogation?
Witness: Arabic. But what I signed was in the Hebrew language.
Q: The parts the translator read to you are not what you said?
Witness: No.
Military prosecutor: I move to declare the witness a hostile witness in light of the fact that on the witness stand he contradicted the version he gave at the police.
Defense lawyer: I leave it to the court's discretion.
Decision: The witness is declared a hostile witness.
Q: In your investigation you said at the very beginning "I want to tell the truth." Is that true or not?
Witness: Not. They started to threaten me that if I did not tell what he wants he would hit me.
Q: In lines 2-3 of the statement it says (quotes). Is what it says true or not?
Witness: Not.
Q: Later on you also said that there were a few other people with you at the site. Is that true or not?
Witness: Yes. But he is the one who asked me about the people. I told you that he threatened and hit.
Q: Did he put the names into the interrogation, did he say the people's names?
Witness: Yes.
Q: What names did he say?
Witness: I don't remember.
Cross-examination by the defense attorney, Akram Samara
Q: What do you do in life?
Witness: I go to school. I go to the café, smoke, play pool.
Q: What grade are you in?
Witness: Ninth.
Q: Tell us about your arrest.
Witness: They came and picked me up from my house, put me in a jeep and started hitting me. Then they took me to Ma'ale Adumim and then I was questioned.
Q: What time were you picked up from your home?
Witness: 3 AM.
Q: And you were taken straight to Ma'ale Adumim?
Witness: yes.
Q: And in Ma'ale Adumim they took you into Meni's room?
Witness: Yes.
Q: In that room was Meni alone or with others?
Witness: Just him.
Q: What did he say to you and what did you say to him?
Witness: He started to question me, he started to tease me.
Q: Like what?
Witness: To curse. "Are you going to deal with me like a person or like an ass." Meni said "anik rabbak" [fuck your God].
Q: Did he yell at you?
Witness: Yes.
Q: Did he hit you during the investigation?
Witness: He made me a sign with his hands that he is about to hit me and I said to him "yes, yes, I did it."
Q: When you were arrested were you sleeping?
Witness: Yes.
Q: About how long were you in Meni's room?
Witness: About an hour.
Q: Did Meni talk to you the whole time?
Witness: Yes.
Q: When did your father get to Ma'ale Adumim?
Witness: When they took me to the other investigator my father came.
Q: I saw the video recording with the other investigator. Would you agree with me that the investigator did not inform you of your right to consult a lawyer? Is that true?
Witness: Yes.
Q: And he didn't tell you you had the right to remain silent either. Right?
Witness: He didn't tell me.
Q: And he didn't tell you the suspicions against you either?
Witness: The second interrogator didn't.
Q: Would you agree with me that at the end of collecting your testimony he did not read it to you again and did not translate it for you into Arabic and asked you to sign?
Witness: Yes.
Q: At the end of taking your testimony two people came in, two plainclothes policemen. Do you know them from before?
Witness: No.
Q: Do you remember it well?
Witness: No.
Q: You see two people going into the interrogation room, bringing a detainee in for interrogation. They bring him into the same room. Do you remember those two people?
Witness: No.
Q: Would you agree with me that during your interrogation you were handcuffed for the whole interrogation?
Witness: Yes.
Q: Were you handcuffed during Meni's interrogation too?
Witness: Yes.
Q: Do you know how to make a fire bottle?
Witness: No.
Q: In your interrogation you claimed that the defendant is the one who made the fire bottle. But M.A. says you are the one who made it.
Witness: Meni may have asked me at the beginning but I don't know M.A.
Q: Did you see the defendant make a fire bottle?
Witness: No.
Q: Did you see him throw it?
Witness: No. I never saw him in my life.
Q: In your two interrogations at the Ma'ale Adumim police station, what time were they? According to the minutes it was between 3 AM and 4 AM. Is that true?
Witness: Between 4 AM and 5 AM.
Q: In the interrogation you could see that you were tired and wanted to sleep. Is that true?
Witness: Yes,
Lawyer: No further questions.
Every week for a year we met dozens of Palestinian boys aged 13-18, youngsters just like any other children their age. Yet their hands and feet are cuffed, they are accused of throwing stones and Molotov Cocktails and even graver charges, and one after another they are sentenced to many months in jail.
We often wondered what brings ordinary boys to depart from their routine, confront armed and threatening soldiers and risk their own and their families' future.
Surely they were not born violent, even though some did throw stones and confront the security forces. The only conceivable explanation is the reality of the Palestinian children's lives. They have never experienced life without occupation.
From their earliest childhood they have experienced passing through checkpoints, their parents' humiliation, the takeover of their land, soldiers' invasion of their houses in the middle of the night and the arrest of their relatives. They meet soldiers at the entrance to their schools, next to the mosque and in their yards.
The fear and humiliation and maybe even the desire to protect their parents, who appear to accept the situation, lead to the desire to be a "man," to be a "brave fighter" and to pay the price.
Appendix A - Order regarding Security Provisions
[Consolidated Version] (Judea and Samaria) (No. 1651), 5770-2009
Article G – Adjudicating Juveniles (Temporary Order)
Commencement and effect
135. ( A) This article shall enter into effect on 29.09.2009 and shall remain in effect for one year from the day of its commencement.
(B) The provisions of this article shall not apply to a proceeding in which an indictment was filed prior to the commencement of this article.
Definitions
136. In this article –
“Military juvenile court” – a military court of the first instance, with a single judge presiding who is a juvenile judge, or a panel in which the presiding judge is a juvenile judge.
“Minor” – a person under the age of 16; and in regard to a suspect and a defendant, this includes a person who is under the age of 16 on the day the indictment is filed against him.
Appointment of juvenile judge
137. The president of the Military court of appeals shall assign judges – from among the military court judges of the first instance who have received appropriate training to serve as juvenile judges, in a format to be approved by the president of the Military court of appeals – to serve as juvenile judges for a period to be determined.
Judging a minor
138. ( A) Notwithstanding the provisions of any law and security legislation, an offense in which a minor is charged shall be adjudicated before a military juvenile court.
(B) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to proceedings of arrest and release under Article C of Chapter C of this order.
Adjudicating a minor and an adult together
139. ( A) A minor may not be tried together with a person who is not a minor, except with the consent of the chief military prosecutor in the Military Prosecution or of someone duly empowered by him.
(B) If a minor is charged together with a person who is not a minor before a military court that is not a military juvenile court, the court is empowered, after hearing the parties, to adjudicate the case; if the military court so decides, it shall treat the minor as if it were a military juvenile court and it shall have the powers of a military juvenile court provided under this article; if the military court decides not to adjudicate the case, it shall order a separate trial for the minor and transfer him to a military juvenile court.
Minor who is brought to a court that is not a juvenile court.
140. ( A) If a military court that is not a military juvenile court finds, at any stage prior to the verdict, that the defendant is a minor, it shall transfer the case to a military juvenile court, and the latter shall adjudicate the case as if it had been brought before it from the outset, and it is empowered to hear the case from the stage it had reached in the previous court.
(B) If the military court sees special circumstances that justify not transferring the case to a military juvenile court as stipulated in Subsection ( A), it is empowered to continue to adjudicate it, provided that from this point onward it shall act as if it were a military juvenile court, and it shall have all of the powers of a military court provided under this article.
(C) If a military court, which is not a military juvenile court, finds after the verdict that the defendant is a minor, it shall continue to adjudicate the case as if it were a military juvenile court, and it shall have all of the powers of a military court provided under this article.
Adult who is brought before military juvenile court
141. If a military juvenile court finds during the course of the trial that the defendant is not a minor, it is empowered to continue to adjudicate the case as if it were not a military juvenile court or to transfer it to a military court, and the latter shall adjudicate it as if it had been brought before it from the outset, and it is empowered to adjudicate it from the stage it had reached in the military juvenile court.
Maintaining validity
142. A decision or ruling of a court shall not be deemed invalid solely because the defendant, due to his age, should have been tried before a different court; however, if a grave miscarriage of justice resulted from trying a defendant before a court that is not appropriate for his age, the president of the Military court of appeals is empowered to order that a court he so assigns shall conduct a retrial of the case. And the provisions of sections 157 through 162 shall apply, with the necessary changes according to the case.
Separating minors
143. ( A) The military juvenile court shall conduct its hearings, as far as possible, in a place where other trials are not being conducted, or in the same place but not at the same time.
(B) As far as possible, minor defendants shall not be brought to or from the court together with non-minor defendants, and shall not be held together there.
Time for indicting a minor
144. A person shall not be indicted for an offense which he committed as a minor if two years have passed since [the offense] was committed, except with the consent of the chief military prosecutor in the Military Prosecution or someone duly empowered by him.
Indicating age of the minor
145. The indictment against a minor shall indicate, if possible to ascertain, the minor’s date of birth.
Defense
146. ( A) The military juvenile court is empowered to appoint a defense attorney for the minor if it believes this would be in the minor’s best interest.
(B) Subject to the provision in Subsection ( A), the provisions of Article B of Chapter D shall apply to the appointment of a defense attorney under this section.
(C) If the minor does not have a defense attorney, the military juvenile court shall help him to examine the witnesses.
Parent’s status
147. ( A) A military juvenile court is empowered to order, at any time, that the minor’s parent be present in the court.
(B) Any request the defendant is entitled to submit to the military juvenile court may also be submitted on his behalf by the minor’s parent or by a person the court has approved for this, and they are entitled to examine witnesses and present arguments in the minor’s stead or together with him.
Report
( A) If a minor is convicted, the military juvenile court is empowered, if it deems it necessary for the purpose of sentencing the minor, to demand a report in writing from an officer of the Social Welfare Affairs staff at the Civil Administration or from a person appointed by him for this purpose, regarding all of the following, to the extent that it is possible to determine:
(1) the minor’s past;
(2) the minor’s family situation, with complete details, as far as possible, about his parents, spouse, children, brothers and sisters;
(3) the minor’s economic situation;
(4) the health situation of the minor and of the members of his family;
(5) special personal circumstances – if such exist – that led him to commit the offense.
(B) In the report stipulated in Subsection ( A), the person who prepares the report is empowered to advise the court regarding the chances of rehabilitating the minor.
(C) A copy of the report in accordance with this subsection shall not be provided to the parties in the case or to their representatives unless the court instructs otherwise. However, the prosecutor and the minor’s defense attorney are entitled to examine these documents in the court file.
Detention centers for minors
149. ( A) A minor shall not be held in detention or imprisonment except in a separate prison or jail facility for minors, or in a wing of a general prison or jail facility provided that the wing is completely separate, designated for minors only and without any access between it and the other wings of the prison or jail facility or their inhabitants.
(B) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection ( A), it is permissible to hold a minor at a police station, provided that he is held separately and there is no contact between him and non-minor suspects or prisoners.
Appendix B - The Palestinian families speak out
"…Within a month, between 30-35 children from Abu Dis were arrested on charges of throwing stones and Molotov Cocktails. If each child threw an average of two Molotov Cocktails then between 60-70 were thrown, besides stones, and to this day I have heard of no soldier or vehicle harmed by it. It doesn't make sense."
Arrest and interrogation
"At 2 a whole battalion of soldiers arrived, knocked at the neighbors and then our door barbarically, broke windows, did not identify themselves and said they were taking the child to Ma'ale Adumim…
I think the Army wants to mess up our children's lives and instigate conflicts between the clans in Abu Dis, because they make our children incriminate each other and distract us from the main issue, which is the occupation and resisting it… We are always crying, I cannot concentrate at work, it is as if life stopped there… He is missing a year of school, he is only in the 10th grade."
"He was arrested at 2 am. Soldiers came in without knocking, I woke to the sound of the soldiers and they asked me to wake up all my children. A soldier looked at all of them and asked their names. I indicated each one and said his name and then he said: 'I want M.' I asked why and he said he threw stones with other children. The commander explained they were taking him for interrogation, he did not say where, he did not identify himself. The next day I found out he was detained in Offer… I was not present at the investigation, I don't know if it was by the law… He missed a year of school and in jail he does nothing but eat and sleep… When he calls we are afraid to ask questions in case they are listening so they won't harass him."
"We heard from journalists he was tortured. We have no idea who interrogated him, we were not present at the interrogation and nobody invited us to be there. His trial has been postponed for three months…"
"At 11 pm seven jeeps came, soldiers knocked on the door wildly, we opened it for them and they started taking the kids out of the house in the middle of the night and arrested M. who was asleep in his bed. They didn't say where they were taking him and they didn't let us out of the house. For three days we didn't know where he was. We found out through the 'Prisoners Club.' Even the lawyer was not at the interrogation. He doesn't know what happened, who interrogated him and how."
"The boy, 14, confessed in the interrogation. We don't know whether under pressure, I imagine trauma. A 14-year-old boy taken at night, interrogated when he was tired and scared, out of fear and threats and stories that other children incriminated them and they confess. I know for sure he did not throw stones. My son goes to the school where I teach and he is always under my supervision."
"The boy was arrested at the funeral of a boy from the village who was run over by a settler. After the funeral they threw stones at a military base. His brother went to the police (after he was arrested) but they didn't let him be present at the interrogation…"
"… We don't know what really happened in the interrogation or who interrogated him or how. We still haven't visited him and we could not have a decent conversation with him. The last court hearing was 21 days ago and since then we know nothing about him."
Loss of parental authority
"…I really want to know how he was interrogated and what they did to him. I know that now I have to do a lot to restore his life and set him back on track. I don't know how the detention is going to affect him emotionally.
It scares me that he will come out full of hatred and anger at the other people…"
"I think my boy goes after the other boys his age and they play heroism games, who can throw stones at soldiers, who has the nerve to go up to the fence… M., 16, was not allowed to go up to the fence. He was arrested there with three other children. We have land near the fence and it is natural for the boy to be there…"
"We feel emptiness and loss… Our biggest fear is how he is going to behave after he gets out. He feels he grew up and can decide for himself what he wants to do."
"I have been very irritable since his arrest… I think he went up to the fence so he would not go to school, he wants to work because a lot of children his age from the village work already and help their families… But we want him to go to school, thank God, we manage."
"Our children don't come back to us children but men, who do not accept what we say and think they know everything."
After the arrest
"… I have five daughters and five sons. They cannot get over this. We think about him every day. They want to make a criminal out of my son and accuse him of something he didn't do. My kids barely manage to study…"
"… his arrest traumatized his siblings. The two-year-old talks about how they arrested him and to this day he cannot forget even the smallest detail, and they are all in constant fear of any knock on the door, which makes them jump and think they are coming to arrest another one…"
"… I support my son and I think he didn't do it. They are accusing him of making a Molotov Cocktail, I don't know how to do that. We are very worried about him… We think about him all the time, when we eat, day and night. My mother couldn't come today because she can't stand it, to see him in jail…"
"His arrest affected the whole family. He had a special connection with his brothers, his little brother keeps pointing at his picture and misses him. We are in very bad shape. How do you think a mother feels when her son is behind bars? I don't know if he ate, if he is sick, if he isn't cold."
"They took him at night. We haven't visited him yet and I only see him at the trial. My son denied the charges and now they are bringing witnesses, three children, his friends. We only talk to him in court."
"… the cruel way he was arrested made our six-year-old daughter jump every time there's a knock on the door because they came twice. The first time they didn't arrest him because they said they were looking for M.M., but my boy is M.K. They came back a week later and insisted on arresting him. I think they didn't manage to find M.M. We have three boys and two girls. Every time we do something as a family we think of him and cry… Life does not go on naturally…"
"This child in particular left a void at home. Every night we remember him and talk about him. Every moment we remember, at every meal, everything we do together at home, the emotional impact is very deep and traumatic… We heard the lawyer's version, to this day we have not visited him and have not heard him tell his version…"
"The village has no therapeutic frameworks for these children. The older boy who is at home now is scared. Another one is in school. There is nowhere for me to go to get help for the children."
"He has another brother and two sisters at home. His brother is one year younger than him. We have a feeling of emptiness, that there is a void at home, a feeling of loss. His brother refuses to sleep in their room alone and does not let anybody in the house touch his brother's things. His uncles also feel his absence deeply. He was the family dynamo and his absence is felt…
Appendix C - Synopsis of testimonies
given in the trial of A.S. From Abu Dis, aged 16 at the time the alleged offenses were committed, (Case 4701/10)
Primary examination of witness for the prosecution Y.A. by military prosecutor Capt. Shahar Erez.
Q: What were you arrested for?
Witness: I swear I don't know.
Q: During your questioning at the police did they tell you what the suspicions against you were?
Witness: Yes. They told me about it was about a fire bottle but it's not true.
Q: Before the questioning began, who was with you in the interrogation room?
Witness: When do you mean? Nobody was there.
Q: When you were questioned there were other people with you in the interrogation room. Who were they?
Witness: Nobody. Just the interrogator.
Q: Was your father in the interrogation room?
Witness: For two minutes and he left before the interrogations began.
Q: Do you remember what you and the interrogator and your father talked about?
Witness: He did not interrogate me and he did not interrogate my father.
Q: Did your father talked to anyone? Did he talk in the interrogation room before he left?
Witness: Yes. He told me "don't admit to things you didn't do."
Q: Did your father talk to the interrogator?
Witness: He told him "don't hit him."
Q: Did the interrogator say anything to your father?
Witness: He said "get out."
Q: And before that?
Witness: That's what happened. My father said to the interrogator "don't hit" and the interrogator said "get out."
Q: Can you state your full name?
Witness: The witness states his full name.
Q: Do you have a nickname?
Witness: No.
Q: What did you say in your interrogation about the suspicion of a fire bottle?
Witness: He started to pressure me. He threatened that if not he would hit me. So I had to tell him I did throw it. But that is not true.
Q: When did he threaten you?
Witness: From the beginning when we started the interrogation.
Q: What did you tell the interrogator you did?
Witness: The interrogator started to ask me if I want to say I'm sorry and that I was scared at the time, so I said I was sorry.
Q: What did you tell the interrogator you did?
Witness: He asked me and I answered yes to everything.
Q: Do remember what he asked you?
Witness: At first he asked me if I throw fire bottles and I answered him no. He started with the threats and then I said yes.
Q: I would like to refresh the witness's memory about his statement on November 4, 2010
(the translator reads to the defendant).
Witness: Wait, wait, that's not true. The interrogator showed me that page and told me to sign it and the page is in Hebrew and I cannot read Hebrew.
Q: What language was the interrogation?
Witness: Arabic. But what I signed was in the Hebrew language.
Q: The parts the translator read to you are not what you said?
Witness: No.
Military prosecutor: I move to declare the witness a hostile witness in light of the fact that on the witness stand he contradicted the version he gave at the police.
Defense lawyer: I leave it to the court's discretion.
Decision: The witness is declared a hostile witness.
Q: In your investigation you said at the very beginning "I want to tell the truth." Is that true or not?
Witness: Not. They started to threaten me that if I did not tell what he wants he would hit me.
Q: In lines 2-3 of the statement it says (quotes). Is what it says true or not?
Witness: Not.
Q: Later on you also said that there were a few other people with you at the site. Is that true or not?
Witness: Yes. But he is the one who asked me about the people. I told you that he threatened and hit.
Q: Did he put the names into the interrogation, did he say the people's names?
Witness: Yes.
Q: What names did he say?
Witness: I don't remember.
Cross-examination by the defense attorney, Akram Samara
Q: What do you do in life?
Witness: I go to school. I go to the café, smoke, play pool.
Q: What grade are you in?
Witness: Ninth.
Q: Tell us about your arrest.
Witness: They came and picked me up from my house, put me in a jeep and started hitting me. Then they took me to Ma'ale Adumim and then I was questioned.
Q: What time were you picked up from your home?
Witness: 3 AM.
Q: And you were taken straight to Ma'ale Adumim?
Witness: yes.
Q: And in Ma'ale Adumim they took you into Meni's room?
Witness: Yes.
Q: In that room was Meni alone or with others?
Witness: Just him.
Q: What did he say to you and what did you say to him?
Witness: He started to question me, he started to tease me.
Q: Like what?
Witness: To curse. "Are you going to deal with me like a person or like an ass." Meni said "anik rabbak" [fuck your God].
Q: Did he yell at you?
Witness: Yes.
Q: Did he hit you during the investigation?
Witness: He made me a sign with his hands that he is about to hit me and I said to him "yes, yes, I did it."
Q: When you were arrested were you sleeping?
Witness: Yes.
Q: About how long were you in Meni's room?
Witness: About an hour.
Q: Did Meni talk to you the whole time?
Witness: Yes.
Q: When did your father get to Ma'ale Adumim?
Witness: When they took me to the other investigator my father came.
Q: I saw the video recording with the other investigator. Would you agree with me that the investigator did not inform you of your right to consult a lawyer? Is that true?
Witness: Yes.
Q: And he didn't tell you you had the right to remain silent either. Right?
Witness: He didn't tell me.
Q: And he didn't tell you the suspicions against you either?
Witness: The second interrogator didn't.
Q: Would you agree with me that at the end of collecting your testimony he did not read it to you again and did not translate it for you into Arabic and asked you to sign?
Witness: Yes.
Q: At the end of taking your testimony two people came in, two plainclothes policemen. Do you know them from before?
Witness: No.
Q: Do you remember it well?
Witness: No.
Q: You see two people going into the interrogation room, bringing a detainee in for interrogation. They bring him into the same room. Do you remember those two people?
Witness: No.
Q: Would you agree with me that during your interrogation you were handcuffed for the whole interrogation?
Witness: Yes.
Q: Were you handcuffed during Meni's interrogation too?
Witness: Yes.
Q: Do you know how to make a fire bottle?
Witness: No.
Q: In your interrogation you claimed that the defendant is the one who made the fire bottle. But M.A. says you are the one who made it.
Witness: Meni may have asked me at the beginning but I don't know M.A.
Q: Did you see the defendant make a fire bottle?
Witness: No.
Q: Did you see him throw it?
Witness: No. I never saw him in my life.
Q: In your two interrogations at the Ma'ale Adumim police station, what time were they? According to the minutes it was between 3 AM and 4 AM. Is that true?
Witness: Between 4 AM and 5 AM.
Q: In the interrogation you could see that you were tired and wanted to sleep. Is that true?
Witness: Yes,
Lawyer: No further questions.
