'BEATEN' PALESTINIAN BOY IN VIRAL PHOTO TO FACE CHARGES
A 16-year-old Palestinian boy, shown in a photo that has been
roundly condemned as symbolising the Israeli army's use of excessive force, has
been accused of throwing stones at a group of armed Israeli soldiers.
An image of Fawzi al-Junaidi, blindfolded and surrounded by
more than 20 Israeli occupation forces, was widely denounced as it was shared
on social media earlier this week.
The scene pictures al-Junaidi looking disoriented, wearing a
grey shirt and ripped jeans as dozens of soldiers crowd around him carrying
guns and wearing protective gear, including helmets and knee pads.
The teenager, who denies throwing stones, was arrested on
Thursday amid ongoing protests across the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the
Gaza Strip over a US decision on December 6 to recognise Jerusalem as the
capital of Israel.
In six days, at least 16 other Palestinians have been
arrested for protesting. At least four have been killed in the violence since
the US declaration, and more than 700 injured.
'He was beaten with a rifle'
Al-Junaidi also denies accusations of "participating in
protests".
"He said he was fearful and was running away when tear
gas canisters were being thrown," his lawyer, Farah Bayadsi, told Al
Jazeera. "Fawzi said he was beaten with a rifle and he showed up with
bruises all over his neck, chest and back."
She said that the child would face formal charges in front of
an Israeli military court on Wednesday, following an initial hearing on Monday.
"The police had called for an extension on Fawzi's
arrest during the initial hearing," said Bayadsi, who works under the
Defence for Children International - Palestine (DCIP).
"The prosecutor demanded a seven-day extension to the
arrest so that they can prepare a list of indictments, but we refused. The list
of formal charges will be announced [Wednesday] at the second hearing,"
she said.
According to Bayadsi, the judge was stunned at the excessive
force that al-Junaidi was subjected to - most apparent in the manner in which
he was transferred to prison.
"He showed up with large slippers from the prison. He
had lost his shoes and spoke about the way he was abused while being
transferred to prison," she said.
"The prosecutors didn't even say whether the soldiers
would be investigated for using excessive force. The whole case so far has been
handled with neglect."
Though unlikely, Bayadsi said the defence team would try to
secure al-Junaidi's release while his case is ongoing.
"It would be easier to speak with him [and] other
witnesses, and to gather more evidence," she said.
'He was not
protesting'
Due to his father's leg injury and his mother's terminal
illness, al-Junaidi had been the main provider for his family of nine.
His uncle Rashad said that he was simply in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
"He left his house to buy some groceries. Unfortunately,
as he was looking for the store, he bumped into a military ambush and was
confronted with Israeli forces.
"They beat him, blindfolded him, arrested him, and first
took him to the detention centre in a nearby settlement. That night, at 2am, he
was transferred another detention centre," he told Al Jazeera.
"The day after, they took him to Ofer prison."
Ofer is in Israel and mostly holds administrative detainees.
The prison rarely grants prisoners with visitation rights, and families are
often denied permits to cross over to Israel altogether.
"He was not protesting or anything", Rashad said.
"Unfortunately, there has been absolutely no form of communication – we
haven't spoken to him since his arrest."
Administrative detention is a practice in which Israel
imprisons Palestinians without charge or trial, often based on "secret
evidence".
More than
300 children detained in Israeli prisons
Ayed Abu Qtaish, DCIP's accountability programme director,
said about 320 children are currently held in Israeli prisons and detention
centres.
"In October 2015, there was a spike in the number of
children being interrogated and arrested … A lot of them end up being tried in
military courts," he said.
"These children are usually picked up at protests,
arrested for throwing stones, for allegedly possessing a weapon, things like
that," he explained.
Arrests of children usually happen at friction points –
either near settlements, bypass roads, or at a construction site neat the
separation barrier, he said.
"During these arrests, the children undergo various
types of mistreatment, including torture," he said.
The southern West Bank city of Hebron has become the site of
several Israeli settlements in the middle of the local Palestinian population.
According to Israeli rights group B'Tselem, Palestinians in
Hebron have been subject to restrictions on movement, the closure of main
streets, and the shutting down of a major commercial hub.
B'Tselem has documented Palestinians' experiences of lengthy,
humiliating inspections at 20 permanent checkpoints across Hebron.
The presence of Israeli soldiers has led to a cycle of
confrontation, often resulting in nightly military raids and arrests.
'The infamous breaking the bones
policy is back'
Amjad Al-Najjar, spokesperson for the Hebron-based
Palestinian Prisoners Club, told Al Jazeera that since the last wave of
protests, Israeli forces have used excessive force when beating and arresting
Palestinians.
"The infamous breaking the bones policy is back,"
he said, referencing policy by Israel's former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
When he was defence minister during the first Intifada - or
mass uprising, Rabin ordered Israeli army commanders to break the bones of
Palestinian protesters.
Today, this policy has evolved to specifically target the
knees and legs of Palestinian youth to disable them and as a means to prevent
them from protesting altogether.
"In the last few days, after the protests over the US
embassy move, a lot of the youth who return home after being detained were in
miserable shape," said Al-Najjar.
"They're often covered in blood and with stitches on
their heads as a result of being severely abused and beaten up by Israeli
forces," he added.
"They're often in so much pain, that they are unable to
consume water and food."
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