Submitted on 19 April 2002 to Mrs. Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

CONTENTS:

I. Introduction
II. Violations of the Right to Life
III. Violations of the Right to Education
IV. Violations of the Right to an Adequate Standard of Living
V. Violations of the Right to Health
VI. Violations of the Rights of Children Deprived of their Liberty
VII. Massacre in Jenin Refugee Camp
VII. Conclusion and Recommendations

I. Introduction

During the early morning hours of Friday, March 29th, the Israeli army launched a widespread military attack on Palestinian cities, villages and refugee camps, placing hundreds of thousands of people under curfew and causing the worst humanitarian crisis in this area for decades. Reports indicate without a doubt that Israeli attacks in some areas, namely Jenin refugee camp and the old city of Nablus, constitute war crimes. Estimates place the death toll in the hundreds, with thousands of Palestinians injured, thousands of Palestinians made homeless, and hundreds of homes destroyed. Exact details regarding the number of killed and wounded or the extent of damage to Palestinian communities and infrastructure is impossible to gauge at present given the ongoing siege.

In the course of the violent attacks, the Israeli army have deliberately severed electricity, phone and water lines. The policy of curfew imposed on the residents of the besieged communities effectively makes them prisoners in their own homes, trapped inside with their families. Medical personnel have been repeatedly prevented from reaching the wounded or sick. Ambulances have been fired upon and run over by tanks, causing the International Committee of the Red Cross to announce that it was severely restricting the movement of its staff in the West Bank. Homes continue to be invaded, vandalized, and looted by Israeli soldiers and Palestinian males, including children, are being rounded up arbitrarily. At least 5,000 Palestinian men have been detained since the beginning of the invasion. Repeated testimony provided to DCI /PS by released detainees indicate that majority of these newly detained are subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment. Their whereabouts are most often unknown and if they are known, they are not allowed access to an attorney.

The recent siege is all the more severe as it comes after 18 months of repeated Israeli military attacks on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, characterized by widespread human rights abuses, including gross use of military force against civilians, tens of extra judicial killings, restrictions on freedom of movement, widespread arrests, attacks on schools, killings and injury of children, and traumatization of children. Prior to recent invasions, DCI/PS had recorded the deaths of over 230 Palestinian children since September 2000 and estimated approximately 7,000 injured by Israeli soldiers and illegal settlers.

The impact of this siege on Palestinian children, 53% of the population, is immense. The very fabric of Palestinian society is being targeted. In addition to the numbers of Palestinians killed and wounded, educational, municipal, and cultural infrastructure has been severely damaged. According to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), at least 3,000 Palestinian women and children from Jenin refugee camp and the surrounding areas alone, have been made homeless. UNICEF Jerusalem reports that currently 600,000 children are unable to attend school due to Israeli imposed curfews and movement restrictions. Thousands of children have undoubtedly been traumatized by the extreme violence to which their homes and communities have been exposed in the past 3 weeks.

As the voices from the besieged Palestinian communities continue to emerge, the picture of an Israeli government sanctioned attack on the very roots of Palestinian society becomes patently clear. In contrast to Israeli army statements indicating that the recent events are being carried out in the course of a legitimate military operation, local and international witnesses, attest to Israeli military practice characterized by gross violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including war crimes.

The massacre in Jenin refugee camp and the onslaught against other Palestinian communities is a brutal confirmation of Israel's attempt to destroy the very fabric of Palestinian society, an attempt that has characterized the 34 year long Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. What has become patently clear is that this operation is not about security. Rather it is about control and mass destruction. Control of a people. Control of their livelihoods. Control of their futures.

DCI/PS stresses with the utmost force - the root cause of violence and instability in the region is the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. Palestinian society has been encircled, beaten and strangled by this occupation for decades. The years since the signing of the Oslo Accords have seen the acceleration of this occupation despite the illusion of sovereignty given by formal Israeli redeployment from Palestinian cities. The form of occupation may have changed but the content has remained the same. It is this content that lies at the heart of the conflict.

With its headquarters under siege in Ramallah, and most of its staff under curfew in Bethlehem and Ramallah, the staff of Defence for Children International/ Palestine Section is working from their homes and other offices to gather information concerning the effects of the siege on Palestinian children.

Given the situation on the ground, comprehensive details regarding child rights violation are difficult to obtain and verify, as are exact figures of children killed and injured in the past three weeks. The curfew still imposed on thousands of Palestinians, restrictions on freedom of movement, and the continued denial of access by the Israeli army to besieged communities, makes it impossible to possess comprehensive figures or full and exact details at present. Repeated reports emerging from Jenin refugee camp alone indicate numerous bodies lying underneath the rubble of destroyed buildings, as well as reports of alive Palestinians trapped under rubble. In spite of the lack of comprehensive figures, it is clear that systematic and gross violations of Palestinian children's rights have occurred.

The following information represents only a small proportion of the ways in which Palestinian children's rights are being violated at present by the State of Israel. The information presented below has been gathered from a variety of sources, including eyewitness testimony, DCI/PS fieldwork, and local news media.

II. Violations of the Right to Life and Security

According to information provided to DCI/PS on 18 April 2002, by Musa Abu Humeid, General Director of Palestinian Government Hospitals, the total number of Palestinians killed and injured is impossible to know at present. Thus far, 220 bodies of Palestinians killed have arrived to government hospitals.

Information gathered by DCI/PS indicates the deaths of at least 22 Palestinian children as a direct result of the Israeli siege on Palestinian communities. DCI/PS wishes to stress that this number is not comprehensive.

Palestinian Children Killed

- On 1 April, Israeli soldiers shot and killed 13 year old Hamada Akram Sakheeli, of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. He was shot with live ammunition in the chest while playing with friends.

- On 2 April, 15 year old, Issa Daboub, of Bethlehem, was shot with live ammunition and killed while playing in front of his home.

- On 2 April, 13 year old Fayez Khaled Salah of Khan Yunis was shot with live ammunition and killed.

- On 2 April, a pregnant Palestinian woman from the Bethlehem area, Haleema Mohammed Hussein Al Atrash, was forced to give birth on the street. When complications arose, Israeli soldiers prevented ambulances from reaching the area and providing medical care, resulting in the death of her newborn child.

- On 6 April, Rubeen Jamil Khdour, 15 years old, from Al Fawwar Refugee Camp near Hebron was killed by a live bullet to the chest.

- On 6 April, Sumaya Najeh Hassan 6 years old, from Rafah in the Gaza Strip was killed by a live bullet to the chest, while she was travelling in a car with her mother, father and grandfather. The car was fired upon by soldiers from a nearby settlement (Rafah Yam). Sumaya's mother who is 8 months pregnant was also injured in the shooting. Her grandfather was also injured.

- On 6 April, Salwa Khaled Dhaleez, 10 years old, from Rafah in the Gaza Strip was shot and killed while playing outside by soldiers shooting from Rafah Yam settlement at the same time that Sumaya was killed. Six other children were also injured in this attack.

- On 6 April, an 8 year old boy from Nablus was killed. Name and cause of death at present unknown by DCI/PS.

- On 6 April, Isra' Othman, 10 years old, from Beitunia, near Ramallah was killed. Cause of death at present unknown to DCI/PS.

- On 11 April, five year old Ahid Rasmi Hmamda, five years old, from Yatta, near Hebron , was killed after suffering asphyxiation from a noxious gas fired by Israeli soldiers.

- On 11 April, during the lifting of the curfew in Jenin city, the first since the siege had begun 10 days prior, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a14 year old child in the eastern part of the city.

- On 14 April, 14 year old Mohammed Habeeb Awad was killed by an Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) in the shape of a softdrink can. The explosive device was left by the Israeli military during the invasion of Nablus.

- On 14 April, the body of a child was found in Nablus. His identity is yet unknown.

- The bodies of two fifteen year old boys, Amid Azmi Alyamouni and Nidal Qassem, from Yamoun village near Jenin, were found. The cause or date of death is unknown at present.

- In the Old City of Nablus, the bodies of three siblings were found underneath the rubble of their family home, along with the bodies of other family members. The deceased children are: Abdullah Samir Al Sha'abi, 8 years, Azzam Samir Al Sha'abi, 7 years, Anas Samir Al Sha'abi, 4 years old.

- Dina Sawafta, 13 years, Tubas. 5 April.

- Qusay Farah Abu Aysha, 13 years old from Old Askar Refugee Camp was killed inside his house by Israeli shelling on 16 April.

- A baby from the Sha'er family died following delivery in Nablus on 14 April. Her mother was forced to give birth in the house and following complications was prevented from reaching the hospital. Her parents were forced to bury her in the garden.

- The body of a child was found on 16 April in Nablus. The identity of the child is unknown.

Palestinian Children Injured

- On 3 April, during a three-hour lifting of the curfew on residents of Ramallah, Israeli troops fired randomly at Palestinian civilians who were attempting to buy food, water and essential goods. A 14-year old boy, Kindi Qutteineh, who lives in the center of the city, was shot in his leg by live ammunition fired from an Israeli tank. An eyewitness to the shooting told DCI/PS, "I was walking up the street to buy some food when Israeli soldiers shot randomly at people walking in the street. Kindi was near his house and was clearly shot for amusement by Israeli soldiers positioned in a tank. It took around one hour before an ambulance could reach Kindi and take him to hospital." Another eyewitness informed DCI/PS that the 4 other children living in the compound, ranging in age from 3 months to 12 years, were severely affected by the event. They watched Kindi lie for almost one hour in pools of his own blood while waiting for the ambulance.

- On 5 April, Nine year old, Mohammed Amin Abdul Rahman Al Zougheir of Hebron was seriously injured during an assassination attempt on the life of a Palestinian activist. Mohammed and his father were next to their car when a air to surface missile slammed into the vehicle. The attack caused 3rd degree burns on 80% of Mohammed's body. The child was transferred to Al Ahli hospital where he was placed in the ICU. On 6 April, the child was transferred to Hadassah Hospital . At that time, the situation of the child was critical. Mohammed's father was also wounded in the attack, sustaining burns to his arms and chest.

- On 16 April, 16 year old Shadi Issa Mohammed Yunis Jaradat (d.o.b. 14/4/86) of Hebron, sustained injuries after being shot in the chest with live ammunition during an Israeli army invasion into Hebron.

- On 10 April, 16 year old Abdul Rahman Ismail Mohammed Abu Hadwan (d.o.b. 9/1/86), from Harat al-Sheikh neighborhood in Hebron , sustained injuries to his lower leg and ankle when he was shot by Israeli soldiers with a fragmenting bullet.

- On 15 April, 13 year old Mohmmed Jadu'a Ismail Al Namura (d.o.b. 26/7/88 ), of Dura village near Hebron , sustained injuries to his back after being hit with shrapnel.

III. Violations of the Right to Education

According to UNICEF Jerusalem, approximately 600,000 Palestinian children are currently unable to attend school due to policies of curfew and restrictions on freedom of movement.

The Israeli army has attacked the Palestinian Ministry of Education in Ramallah two times since the beginning of the siege. According to a report issued by the Palestine Emergency Committee on 13 April, the first attack occurred on 3 April, when around 150 Israeli soldiers destroyed the main gates of the Ministry.* According to the report, Ministry employees were forced to wait outside in the cold for over six hours while Israeli soldiers wreaked havoc inside, breaking down doors, destroying files, confiscating property and materials and destroying equipment. An initial assessment made by Ministry employees and cited in the report, indicates the following damage to the Ministry:

" General: the Ministry's computer net servers were removed
financial office: the main safe was blown open damaging its contents, including dossiers, promissory notes, cash, check books and vouchers
- central office: the Israeli forces blew up metal filing cabinets destroying vital documents.
- all offices: files have been torn up, and left in huge piles on the floor
- Storage room: the IDF confiscated computers, overhead projectors, video sets, and other valuable educational equipment
- Central office: The Israeli forces blew up and destroyed all main doors. They took away or destroyed records and references that are highly important for official transcripts.
- Remaining offices in the Ministry: The forces seem to have confiscated many floppy disks, CDs, files, dossiers and documents but more time will be needed to more accurately assess.

According to a release issued by the Ministry, its Ramallah premises were again attacked on 14 April 2002 , with over 60 soldiers entering the building. Ministry employees present were forced to stay in one room while Israeli soldiers proceeded to destroy furniture, doors, and equipment, stealing computers, servers and files. Soldiers occupied the building for around three hours.

In addition to an estimated loss of over one million dollars resulting from the deliberate destruction of Ministry facilities and equipment (much of which was donor funded by the international community), the Ministry is seriously concerned about the destruction and confiscation of important Ministry files, such as those necessary for issuing and certifying students' transcripts. The Ministry's files have been accumulated over many years.

Of primary concern to Ministry officials is the impact the devastation of the Ministry will have on the education of the approximately one million Palestinian children it serves.

A variety of other institutions providing services to Palestinian children have also been the target of Israeli military abuse. On the 30th of March, soldiers invaded the building housing the Al-Bireh Municipal Library, breaking doors and windows, destroying computers, upsetting the contents of the library, and confiscating material. In Anabta village near Tulkarem, the Women's Charitable Organization sustained damage, with its outside wall blown up and windows broken. Among its many services, the organization operated a preschool, serving 230 children, and a daycare. Also, in Anabta, a pre-school serving 70 children was attacked and vandalised, with the main door destroyed and the contents of the pre-school damaged and upset. [source: PEC report]

These attacks represent only a small portion of the extensive damage wrought by the Israeli military on Palestinian infrastructure providing services to children.

*Destruction of Palestinian Public Institutions: First Preliminary Report, April 13, 2002 , Palestine Emergency Committee. Hereinafter, PEC report.

IV. Violations of the Right to an Adequate Standard of Living

Palestinian children, who constitute 53% of the Palestinian population, are highly dependent upon their families to supply their livelihood. Palestinian family size is large (averaging seven family members) and for this reason the number of dependents supported by each wage earner is high. Consequently, any deterioration in the economic situation has a disproportionate affect on children.

The permanent curfew placed on the majority of Palestinian residents of the West Bank since March 29 means that work has ground to a complete stop for most families. It is impossible for anyone in the affected areas to go to work. The results of this are obvious, a drastic worsening of the poverty levels which in some areas means that families are going without food or relying upon humanitarian aid for survival. There are a number of factors which make Palestinian society more susceptible to poverty:

· The last 18 months of siege of all Palestinian villages and towns have already worsened poverty levels dramatically. Prior to the current round of invasions, more than 50% of Palestinians were already living below the poverty line of less than US$2/day. A majority of children were living below the poverty line.

· The last 18 months have also seen personal savings levels fall dramatically because of the worsening economic situation. Consequently, the population has no safety net to fall back on in times of crisis.

· More than half the Palestinian labor force work inside Israel in fields such as construction or for the Palestinian Authority. Therefore, even when the curfew is lifted for brief periods of time it is not possible to go to work, as opposed to those families and individuals owning small shops who are able to earn some money in these periods. This labor force bias, coupled with the massive financial damage to the Palestinian Authority itself, means that large numbers of workers have no possible recourse apart from aid or borrowing money from families.

Moreover, the massive damage inflicted to Palestinian infrastructure, conservatively estimated in the tens of millions of dollars, will place enormous strain on the future economy. In Ramallah for example, all major streets and many side streets have had deep trenches dug into them by Israeli bulldozers and tanks. This damage to the national economy is compounded by domestic loss through Israeli shelling of residential areas and widespread reports of looting and destruction of private property by Israeli soldiers.

As pointed out earlier, Palestinian children are particularly dependent upon their families for their livelihood. Israel 's policies of collective punishment and deliberate economic strangulation directly target the most vulnerable layers of society, namely Palestinian children.

In terms of destruction of vital infrastructure, Israeli tanks and bulldozers have deliberately severed water, electricity and phone lines in numerous areas of the West Bank . This has led to severe water shortages, with many areas without any running water for days on end. No electricity has made the refrigeration of vital food supplies impossible. Attempts made by residents to stock up on perishable foods, in particular, milk and meat, were in vein as the supplies became inedible with no refrigeration. At one point, around 120,000 people in the Ramallah area alone were without electricity. Moreover, six of nine electrical feeding stations were down. The Israeli military occupied the building housing a main water pumping station in Beitunia and no water was being pumped to those local residents whose water lines had not been severed. Municipal workers who attempted to fix the problems were repeatedly shot at by Israeli soldiers.

V. Violations of the Right to Health

In addition to children killed, wounded, and terrorized, the Israeli siege is having a devastating impact on the status of children's health. Medical personnel and humanitarian aid workers have been repeatedly denied access to the sick and wounded. They have been repeatedly attacked and harassed and had their vehicles shot at and/or destroyed. Moreover, civilians who have tried to reach medical facilities have been repeatedly denied passage, attacked and in more than one case killed for seeking medical treatment.

According to information provided to DCI /PS on 18 April 2002, by Musa Abu Humeid, General Director of Palestinian Government Hospitals, approximately ½ million children have been unable to receive their required vaccinations since 29 March. The extended absense of vaccinations such as these poses a threat to the population as a whole as it can lead to a reemergence of epidemics like measles and poliomyelitis, which were eradicated in 1997 and 1999, respectively.

Abu Humeid also stated that another problem concerns the large number of Palestinian children suffering from blood diseases and who require regular medical treatment. In the Jenin area alone, he reported, there are 86 Palestinian children who have been diagnosed with thalasemia (a hereditary anemia disorder), but are unable to receive the necessary treatment. Patients in need of other forms of regular medical treatment, such as kidney dialysis, are also at risk as they are unable to receive treatment.

Pre-and-post-natal health is also effected. There have been repeated reports of Palestinian women in labor, delayed at checkpoints, refused permission to either reach medical facilities or for ambulances to reach them. On 2 April, a pregnant Palestinian woman from the Bethlehem area, Haleema Mohammed Hussein Al Atrash, was forced to give birth on the street. When complications arose, Israeli soldiers prevented ambulances from reaching the area and providing medical care, resulting in the death of her newborn child.

Perhaps the greatest health risk posed to Palestinian children at present is in terms of their mental health. Palestinian children have been repeatedly exposed to physical and psychological terror. The following examples provide but a small glimpse of what Palestinian children have been exposed to since 29 March:

- On 31 March, Israeli soldiers overtook a 5-story building next to the Preventive Security Compound in Beitunia in the Ramallah area. They gathered nine families from the building and placed these 60 people in one apartment. Included in this group were 22 children below 15 years of age. They were kept in this apartment for at least 2 days without food and used as human shields as Israeli forces bombarded the Preventive Security Compound with helicopter missiles and tank shells only 50m away.

- On 8 April, residents from Beit Sahour reported to DCI /PS continuous shooting and heavy shelling the previous night by Israeli soldiers in the area around the Church of Nativity . The barrage of shelling was so heavy that residents were unable to sleep and many parents report that their children are in a state of continuous terror. The DCI /PS Director reported that his three-year old daughter spent the night crying and asking to be covered by her blanket. She repeatedly told her father, "The soldiers want to kill me and this will protect me."

- The family of Riad Al Atari, from the north of the West Bank , moved to Beit Sahour in the Bethlehem region prior to the invasion of Beit Sahour. On 3 April, Riad left the apartment fearing arrest in the wake of the Israeli campaign of mass arbitrary arrest of Palestinian males. His wife and three children, a 5 month baby, a 6-year old boy and a 4-year old girl remained. At approximately 8pm that day, Israeli soldiers surrounded the building with a large number of tanks and soldiers. They began to shoot randomly and called on everyone to exit. The Atari family were the only people staying in the building at the time and they were forced to stand outside in freezing temperatures and rain for nearly 6 hours. The three young children and their mother remained outside in these conditions until 2am while Israeli soldiers went through the building destroying furniture, emptying out closets and spreading everything on the floor. They refused to allow the family to retrieve any personal belongings or take clothes to protect themselves from the weather. The family was eventually allowed to take shelter in a neighboring building and the next day moved to another apartment in Beit Sahour.

- On 2 April, the Palestinian Counselling Center (PCC) reported to DCI/PS that it received a phone call from a man in Bethlehem whose house had been struck by artillery from the Israeli military. Two family members, a 60 year old woman and 38 year old man died from injuries sustained during the shelling, after being refused access to medical treatment. The Israeli army then refused to allow their bodies to be removed. The bodies remained inside the two room apartment for over two days. The Israeli army refused efforts by the International Committee of the Red Cross to remove the bodies. The children in the house, ranging in age from 5 years to 14 years, were moved into the bathroom to stop them from seeing the bodies decompose.

-The PCC also reported another hotline call from a family in Ramallah whose home was invaded on 2 April by Israeli soldiers, who destroyed virtually everything in the house. Clothes were removed from closets and ripped apart. The children's toys were destroyed. There are three children in the house, ranging in age from 6 years to 10 years. The mother of the family called PCC saying that they had run out of food and needed immediate help. The mother also asked for advice on what to tell her six year old daughter who kept asking for an explanation as to why the soldiers had ripped the head and hands off her favorite doll.

-On 1 April, Israeli forces took up position in the immediate vicinity of Dar Alyatim Al Arabi orphanage in Tulkarem in the northern West Bank . Information provided to DCI /PS by a social worker employed at the school indicated that Israeli tanks were positioned in front of the school for eight days. There are 50 children between the ages of 6 and 18 years, living in the school. The school social worker provided the following statement to DCI/PS:

"When Israeli forced invaded the city on 1 April, they invaded Jamal Abd al Nasser secondary girls school, which is adjacent to Dar Alyatim Al Arabi. In order to invade the school, they destroyed the wall between the school and Dar Alyatim Al Arabi as well as the bathrooms and cafeteria of the school. This destruction took place in order to enable the tanks to pass through and invade the school. At 9:30am , Tuesday, 2 April, tanks were positioned at the entrance of Dar Alyatim Al Arabi, affecting movement inside the school and terrifying the children. At this time, the children were on the 3rd floor, which is the sleeping quarter. In an attempt to calm the children, we gathered them into the television room. During the eight days, we faced shortages of bread and water. In addition, three children were sick."

In the past 18 months, thousands of Palestinian children have been traumatized by repeated Israeli attacks against their homes and communities, and in the past three weeks alone Palestinian children have been excessively exposed to both physical and psychological violence that goes beyond children's knowledge, endurance, and human experience.

Regardless of the efforts of adults to protect them, they are witnesses to the violence taking place around them. Extreme repetitive stress, as in the communities that are threatened and shelled by tanks and heavy gunfire, induces a state of exhaustion, hopelessness, feelings of impotence and depression. Events causing trauma to Palestinian children can be summarized to killing, injuries, permanent disabilities, sudden attacks on schools, shelling of residential areas, living under prolonged curfew, detentions, and destruction of houses.

The effects of such violence on children, both for children who have experienced it directly and those who have witnessed it, have an immeasurable impact on the mental health of Palestinian children. Social workers and psychologists who worked with DCI /PS's Crisis Intervention project, report that exposure to such violence manifests itself in a variety of symptoms, including: fear of darkness, sleeping alone, leaving the house, staying home alone, loud noises, and sudden movements; repetitive use of bathroom; sleep disturbances, including difficulty in falling asleep, nightmares, and changes in sleep pattern; changes in daily habits, including unwillingness to engage with family and peers and inability to concentrate; hyperactivity; and aggressive behavior. In addition, there are other symptoms that are of an urgent and immediate nature, such as: decrease or increase of appetite, involuntarily bowel movements and difficulty in communicating with others.

DCI /PS stresses that the effects of this intense exposure to violence are long-term, and the resultant physical and emotional damage sustained by Palestinian children will undoubtedly have persistent social and political repercussions.

CASE STUDY: 10 year old Palestinian girl child Juman

In a 3 April press release, DCI /PS reported the shooting of 14 year old Kindi Qutteineh as he was walking down the street during the lifting of the curfew on Tuesday, 2 April. DCI /PS has received additional information about children living in the same building compound as Kindi. The compound in which the families are living is located in downtown Ramallah. This is their story: During the lifting of the curfew in Ramallah on Tuesday, 2 April, one of the female members of a family living in the compound went out to buy supplies. When she was returning to her house, she heard a shot ring out. Her back was to Kindi as he was heading towards town to buy food. She was about 20 meters away from Kindi when he was shot. According to Kindi, he heard the shot, felt something warm on his leg, looked down, and saw a hole in his trousers, and saw blood. He began screaming, "I've been shot, I've been shot." People in the vicinity brought the boy into the courtyard of the compound in which he is living. It took 45 minutes for the ambulance to arrive.

Meanwhile the four other children in the compound saw him lying in pools of his own blood, including the women's niece, 10 year old Juman. The children range in age from three months to 12 years.

Juman's family lives near Arafat's compound. They moved to the other apartment for fear of their safety. By the time of the lifting of the curfew, they had heard that their home had been damaged so a friend offered to drive them over to check on it during the lifting of the curfew. At this point 10 year old Juman became very upset at the thought of her mother or any family members leaving. She wanted all the family members to stay together. So, they gathered her with them and went to check out the house. They tried several unsuccessful routes but were unable to reach the house because the roads have been torn up. So they decided to head back to where they were staying. On their way back they were stopped when an Israeli soldier accosted the car, pointing his gun at the passengers, including 10 year old Juman. According to her aunt, Juman had an intense physical reaction to this. She began shaking, but she did not scream. Later she told her mother: "Mommy, I was screaming from the inside, but I couldn't get it out."

On 5 April 2002 Israeli soldiers invaded the compound in which they are living. At around 9:30am they heard soldiers trying to break down the main gate of the compound. Neighbors went and opened the gate. Around 12 fully armed soldiers entered the compound, pointing their guns in all directions and yelling at the people to go inside their homes. They entered Juman's home. Juman's aunt asked them to be gentle because her mother is staying with her and is elderly. The soldiers replied: 'Oh, your mother is here. Maybe I'll kill her.

All of these events happened within a period of three days. There are five children living in the compound. 10 year old Juman, Kindi, a 3 year old, and two others, around 7 and 12 years old.

VI. Violations of the Rights of Children Deprived of their Liberty

Beginning with the first concentrated wave of Israeli invasions into Palestinian cities in early March 2002, the Israeli military launched an unprecedented campaign of arrests, rounding up and detaining thousands of Palestinian males, including significant numbers of Palestinian children. This practice has continued during the current siege, with mass arbitrary arrests throughout the West Bank .

As of 17 April 2002 , thousands of Palestinians remain detained in Israeli detention centers throughout the West Bank and inside Israel . In a wave of arbitrary mass detentions, thousands of Palestinian prisoners have been rounded up by the Israeli military, handcuffed, blindfolded and transported to detention facilities where they are exposed to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Over 10% of these newly arrested are children. The detainees are denied access to attorneys and information regarding their whereabouts is often unknown by their families and human rights organizations.

According to information provided by Issa Karaka, President of the Palestinian Prisoners Club (Nadi al-Aseer), it is impossible at present to know the exact number of prisoners detained, but the number is more than 5,000. He also reports that the Israeli military authorities have refused to provide a list of those detained during the recent siege to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The process of arrest passes through a number of stages. Firstly, Israeli soldiers are continuing to carry out mass, arbitrary arrests of thousands of Palestinians from their homes. This arrest is carried out by heavily armed Israeli troops who often terrorize families and destroy property in the process of arrest. Following arrest, the detainees are blindfolded and handcuffed and taken to a detention center located in an Israeli settlement. Upon arrival, the detainees are verbally informed that they are being held under an Emergency Regulation order, dating from the time of the British Mandate on Palestine .

While in the detention center, the detainees are brought before a military judge who will decide on the basis of "secret evidence" whether to formally issue an administrative detention order, which determines whether the prisoner will remain or be released. This secret evidence is not made available to the prisoner and they have no legal representation.

The Israeli military commander for the West Bank issued a new military order (No. 1500) on 5 April 2002 , which allows for Israeli soldiers to arrest any Palestinian from the West Bank without providing a reason and without a warrant. Moreover, the military order decrees that these detainees can be arrested for a period of 18 days before any legal proceedings take place. The new military order builds on previously issued orders requiring detainees to be brought before a judge within eight days. At present, detainees can be held for 18 days, as decreed by military order no. 1500, and then for an additional eight days, as decreed by previous military orders. Military order no. 1500 is retroactive, applying to all detainees arrested since 29 March 2002 .

According to information received by DCI /PS, tens of administrative detention orders have been handed down by military judges to Palestinian prisoners in the detention camps. Prior to the current siege, around 70 Palestinian prisoners were being detained under administrative detention orders in Megiddo Prison. Under this order, detainees can be held without trial or charge for the period of the order. Administrative Detention orders can be renewed repeatedly with no reason provided.

Over the last week, Israeli authorities have reopened Ketziot prison in the Negev desert, a notorious desert prison that was used to hold thousands of detainees during the first Intifada. In the last few days, all administrative detainees held in Megiddo (around 70 people) and 150 prisoners who were sentenced in Megiddo prior to the recent Israeli invasions were transferred to Ketziot. In addition, over 150 of those prisoners arrested in the recent arrest campaign were also transferred to Ketziot and issued administrative detention orders. The remaining thousands of prisoners in the detention centres are awaiting their turn to appear before the military judge.

Thus far, neither lawyers nor the International Committee of the Red Cross, have been allowed to visit the detained. A DCI/PS attorney was informed by the Israeli occupation authorities that in order for him to visit any Palestinian child detainee recently rounded-up, he must present power-of-attorney proving that he is the prisoners' legal representative. In the case of children, this documentation must be signed by either the child or his/her legal guardian. Given the curfew imposed on thousands of Palestinian residents at present, preventing Palestinian civilians, including human rights lawyers from leaving their homes, signed documentation is virtually impossible to obtain. If such documentation were obtained, it would nevertheless be impossible for many Palestinian lawyers, who live in the areas under curfew to visit those detained. It is also prohibited for other human rights lawyers, whether Israeli or Palestinian, to travel to the areas where the prisoners are detained, as they are classified as "closed military zones."

Human rights lawyers, including those from Addameer and Adalah, have filed three petitions with the Israeli High Court to allow lawyer visits to Ofer Detention Camp, located near Ramallah. Each time, the petition has been rejected. The lawyers are continuing their efforts and have launched a new appeal. According to information received from a prisoner released three days ago, around 1300 Palestinians are currently held in Ofer detention center, near Ramallah, in sub-human conditions.

Testimonies provided to DCI /PS repeatedly confirm beyond any doubt that detainees, including children, are subject to systematic abuse and severe mistreatment in the detention centres. This abuse includes violent beating, being handcuffed and blindfolded for long periods of time, severe lack of food, no access to medical treatment, forced to sleep outside with shortages of, or no, bedding and repeated psychological and physical abuse. Furthermore, following release, detainees are taken to outlying areas in the middle of the night where they are left in dangerous situations without means of getting home.

It should be stressed that children make up a significant proportion of those arrested and are treated in the same manner as adult detainees. Initial information indicates that children make up 10-15% of detainees meaning that more than 500 children under the age of 18 have been detained in the recent arrest campaign. Around 160 children were incarcerated in Israeli prisons prior to the recent wave of arrests. DCI /PS's experience with child detainees indicates that virtually all of these children face some form of torture such as beating, having scalding and freezing water poured on them alternatively, tied in painful positions for long periods of time, sexually harassed, and are subject to physical and psychological threats by Israeli interrogators.

The following case studies highlight the abuse that thousands of Palestinians have been arbitrarily subjected to in the period since 29 March. It should be reiterated that the experiences of these detainees represent the norm of those thousands currently held in detention centres.

- According to information provided to DCI /PS on 9 April by a recently released adult prisoner and former DCI/PS staff member, there were approximately 100 Palestinian children (under 18) currently being detained at Ofer military camp, in Beitunia, near Ramallah, in inhuman and degrading conditions. All of the detainees, both adult and children, had been placed in the open yard of the military camp, without food or blankets, and left there handcuffed and blindfolded for between three and five days. When they informed the soldiers they needed the restroom, they were left to wait for a couple of hours. When the soldiers finally heeded their request, their blindfolds were slightly lifted, but their hands remained tied. During the first 3 days the detainees were provided absolutely no food. When they were later fed, the food was distributed randomly and five prisoners were given an amount sufficient for only one person.

Prisoners in need of medical care received barbaric treatment by the Israeli physician present. One prisoner, who has a blood disease, was informed by the doctor that he shouldn't have come to the doctor while he was still able to walk. He was told that when he could no longer walk, the doctor would come to him. Moreover, injured prisoners from Hadassah hospital were transferred to Ofer.

After one week of arrest, the adult prisoner was released with a group of other detainees. They were transported, by bus, to Qalandia refugee camp, outside of Ramallah, and left there at 4am . They waited there several hours until the Red Cross came and transported them to Al-Amari refugee camp in Ramallah. From there, they walked to their respective homes in groups, a particularly dangerous situation given the curfew currently imposed on Ramallah area residents.

- This testimony is almost identical to the following statement provided to DCI /PS by 17-year-old Samih Sameeh Atta Judeh, of Ramallah, released from detention after 9 ½ days:

"On 30 March, at 2:30am , a group of Israeli soldiers came to my house. Five of them entered the house and others surrounded it. While the soldiers were in the house, they damaged our belongings and furniture. They were very aggressive towards my family and I. They began beating me while I was in the house, using their hands and rifle butts. After that, they transferred my brother and I in an armored personnel carrier to the Al-Mughtarabeen school in al-Bireh. We were placed in the outside yard of the school, handcuffed and blindfolded and left there for two days in the rain and cold without blankets. The treatment there was very bad. The soldiers beat us and shouted at us.

"After two days, we were transferred to Ofer military camp. There, we spent three days in an outside yard, next to the office of the interrogators. We were still handcuffed and blindfolded and were left there in the rain and cold without blankets for three days. During these three days, we were given no food whatsoever. After the three days, I entered interrogation, which lasted for approximately 15 minutes. The interrogators asked me general questions, such as who my friends are and who visits me. I was beaten and threatened during the interrogation.

"After the interrogation, they placed me in a small tent with around 60 other prisoners. Shortly after, they brought another small tent and we divided ourselves among the two. There were a few blankets available, but not enough for everyone and they were wet. Moreover, the tent was leaking. I spent two days in the tent. Afterwards, I was transferred to the barracks, where I spent another 2 ½ days. Finally, we were transported to Qalandia camp where they released us. As we were disembarking from the bus, we were again beaten. During the time we were detained at the school and after interrogation we were given very small portions of food. In one instance, one apple was given to be divided among four persons, one yogurt container was to be divided among ten persons, and we were each provided 1 ½ pieces of bread per day."

- Bassem Shadid, from Dura near the city of Hebron was arrested on Monday, 8 April along with two children also from Dura, aged 13 years and 16 years. They were first taken to Addoriym Detention Centre and then to Gush Etzion Detention Centre in the Israeli settlement of the same name near Bethlehem . During the two days that they spent in the detention centre, Bassem witnessed three waves of detainees being brought to the settlement, totaling around 140 detainees. He estimated that at least 10 of the detainees were children under 18. The two children arrested along with Bassem were forced to remove their clothes down to their underwear at the time of their arrest. They were kept in their underwear without clothes for the two days of detention and were released in this state very late on Wednesday night. They spent most of the time handcuffed and blindfolded and were given very poor food and no access to medical services. One of the detainees held with them was epileptic and not provided with his required medication.

- Shereen Jameel Abdullah Rabah, a 14 year old girl from Bethlehem was arrested on 7 April at 3:50pm during the invasion of Bethlehem . Soldiers entered the house and demanded the identity cards of everyone there. Shereen did not have an ID card because of her young age, the soldiers however refused to believe her. She was arrested along with her elderly father, six brothers, two of her nephews and her brother-in-law. They were taken to the Presidential residence in Bethlehem which had been occupied by Israeli soldiers. Everyone was taken inside the residence except for Shereen and her father who is in his 70s. Shereen and her father were forced to stand outside in the very cold weather for half an hour. Afterwards they were taken to Kfar Etzion detention centre (located in the Gush Etzion bloc) where they were also forced to stand outside for half an hour. They were then taken to interrogation where Shereen was threatened that her house would be demolished and all her relatives would be imprisoned. They were about to beat her when Shereen showed them her birth certificate proving her young age.

At around 11:30pm they were released and they were forced to attempt to walk in the cold weather to Efrat settlement. This was very dangerous because of the presence of heavily armed Israeli settlers on the roads who have often beaten or killed Palestinians. Moreover, they could hear continuous tank shelling and shooting by Israeli soldiers. An Israeli military jeep stopped them and told them they would take the girl to a nearby highway but her father would have to remain behind. Shereen and her father refused and the soldiers took her father's ID card which they later returned. They were forced to return back to Kfar Etzion and stayed there until 5am . After that they walked for three hours to Efrat settlement where they found a Palestinian from inside the Green Line who drove them to Al Khader checkpoint. At the checkpoint the soldiers refused to let them enter and they waited there for another hour. After that they walked through some nearby fields until they reached the Beit Jala District Coordination Office. By this time Shereen's father was very tired and they rested there until 8:30am . They then walked another three hours until they reached their house at 11:30am .

- According to an adult Palestinian male from Ramallah, recently released from Ofer detention camp, both the physical conditions of detention and the treatment by Israeli army soldiers are very bad. The individual was detained there for 15 days, during which they were repeatedly fed uncooked schnitzel. He reports that there are numerous Palestinian children detained in the facility, some appearing as young as 13 and 14 years old. He informed DCI /PS that, as he was being transferred out of the facility, he saw two children being brought to the camp. He witnessed soldiers mocking the children with phrases from Palestinian political speeches and then beating them. After 15 days detention, he and other prisoners from the Ramallah area were taken to Kfar Saba in the northern West Bank and left at 1am . The prisoners were then forced to find their own transportation back to Ramallah, a dangerous and almost impossible task given the ongoing Israeli military siege on communities throughout the West Bank at present.

- O. was arrested last week from his house at 1pm by heavily armed Israeli soldiers. O. is very sick and needs urgent medical treatment outside the country. This fact was known to the soldiers before they arrested him. They took him in a bus blindfolded and handcuffed to several military bases. At each stop he was ordered out of the bus by soldiers who called him by name. The other detainees remained inside the bus as he was singled out. He was badly beaten each time he was removed from the bus. When they arrived in the bus to Beitunia at around 3pm they released him because of his sickness and told him "Your arrest is a message to say we can arrest whenever we want and wherever you are."

- Basel T. was arrested from the Presidential compound (the Muqaat'a) on March 29. He had been detained there on civil matters by Palestinian police following a serious road accident in which he was badly injured. On the first day of the invasion when Israeli troops stormed the Muqaat'a he was taken from the prison. Throughout the period of his arrest he was severely beaten despite his health condition. Basel stated that the Israeli soldiers focused their beatings on the parts of his body where he was suffering from injuries due to the road accident.

He was taken in a bus to Ofra settlement where they interrogated them. While at Ofra settlement he and other prisoners were beaten continuously and forced to stand in the rain for 5 hours without shelter. Soldiers forced them to swear at the Palestinian Authority and curse god. Afterwards they were taken to Ofer prison remaining handcuffed and blindfolded the whole time. At the prison they were forced to sleep outside in tents. There was a shortage of blankets and mattresses (one blanket and mattress for three people). They were given wooden crates to sleep on, one for every three people. For food they were given a piece of unleavened bread and one uncooked schnitzel for each four people. Sometimes they were given apples. Most of them time they were not provided with breakfast. For dinner they were given a tin of yogurt to divide between four persons.

Despite Basel 's request for medicine to treat his wounds he was refused. During the night they would be called out of the tents in the rain and told they were to be counted. After standing outside for 2-3 hours the soldiers would then say that they didn't want to count them and would do it later. Basel was released on Tuesday, 4 April, at midnight . He was taken in a bus with other detainees and dumped at Qalandia checkpoint, left to find their own way back into Ramallah while the city was under strict curfew. When they were released the soldiers told them that had only one minute to escape or they would be shot. Some of the detainees were thrown from the bus still handcuffed and blindfolded.

Child Arrests, Not a New Phenomenon

These reports are in keeping with DCI /PS's experience working with child prisoners. Of the hundreds of Palestinian children DCI/PS has represented in the past several years, virtually every one of them report being subjected to some form of torture, including beating, sleep deprivation, threats, sexual harassment, having hot and cold water poured on them intermittently, tied in painful positions and being placed in isolation.

The phenomenon of arresting and imprisoning Palestinian children is not new. Since 1967, the Israeli occupation authorities have arrested, interrogated, tortured and incarcerated Palestinian children for their political activity. Each year, DCI /PS represents hundreds of these minors before the Israeli military courts and follows up their conditions of detention. Since the beginning of the Intifada in September 2000 and prior to the current siege, DCI/PS estimated that over 700 children had been arrested by the Israeli military. The overwhelming majority of these children were arrested for the "crime" of stone-throwing. Virtually every child arrested undergoes a terrifying and abusive process which constitutes torture. Palestinian child political detainees incarcerated by Israelis routinely pass through procedures of interrogation which have a standard pattern and regular structure. The torture process moves from the moment of arrest, to transfer, interrogation and imprisonment.

Israeli torture of Palestinian political prisoners, including children, is an ongoing and systematized procedure to which thousands of Palestinians have been subjected. Its application extends beyond the context of "security" issues. Rather, it is contextualized within a larger system of Israeli military occupation of Palestinian land and military control over approximately 3 million Palestinian residents of the occupied territories.

In discussing the above forms of abuse to which Palestinian child political detainees are subjected, several issues must be considered:

a. That each individual act is but one part of arrest and interrogation process that is designed to cripple and defeat the detainee. Taken individually, particular acts may alone not constitute torture. Considered as-a-whole, however, the combined abuse, which succeeds in physically and psychologically exhausting and terrifying the child, constitutes torture. Prisoners are handcuffed and blindfolded, beaten, kept from sleeping for extended periods, deprived of food, not given access to a toilet, nor a change of clothes. Quite rightly, prisoners interpret this treatment as utterly de-humanizing. In this vein, it is necessary to consider the links between physical and psychological mistreatment, wherein the former is applied in order to physically exhaust the child, which subsequently effects the psychological state of the child, thus exacerbating the effects of both types of mistreatment.

b. That such abuse takes place within the context of a 34 year long military occupation of approximately three million civilians. An occupation that has been characterized by systematic violence against the child's ethnic, religious, and national group, adding to the fear in place in the child at the time of arrest and exacerbate the effects of the treatment.

c. Finally, one must continually consider that the subjects of such abuse are children. Similar methods applied to a 30-year-old adult may not have the same consequences as they would on a child. The entire process results not only in physical injury, but in psychological terror. The child is repeatedly placed in frightening situations, designed to increase feelings of loneliness and isolation from the outside world. In employing such an approach, Israeli interrogators are targeting children's vulnerability.

Israeli military courts, the antithesis of a justice system

It is a universally accepted standard of international law that the detention of a child should be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time. It has been DCI /PS's repeated experience that the Israeli policy towards Palestinian children is that detention is a measure of "first resort." A prison sentence is the only sentence given to Palestinian children. Since its establishment, DCI/PS has not had one case of a Palestinian child, between 14 and 17 years of age, who was found guilty of committing an "offence" by an Israeli military court, receiving a sentence of anything either than a prison sentence. In addition, experience from the last two years alone indicates that instead of adhering to the principle of the "shortest appropriate period of time," the length of sentences issue to Palestinian children is actually getting longer.

In 1999, 43.51% of the cases DCI /PS represented, received a sentence of less than one month. In the year 2001, than percentage has decreased to 20.21%. Conversely, in 1999 only 19.08% of cases received a sentence of six months to one year, and 6.88% received sentences of more than one year. In 2001, however, 48.94% of cases were sentenced to between six months and one year and 15.96% to more than one year.

Palestine children arrested by the Israeli military are tried in Israeli military courts. The Israeli military courts are merely another arm of Israeli occupation policy and in practice, they constitute the antithesis of a justice system. These courts are not based on any objective legal standards but rather come under the system of Israeli military orders that are issued by the Israeli military authority. These military orders apply only to Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, not to the illegal Israeli settlers living in the area.

This opinion was confirmed by a recent article appearing in one of Israel's leading English language newspapers, Ha'aretz, which reported that many judges serving in Israeli military courts in the West Bank and Gaza Strip lack any legal background or training. Instead, these judges are career military officers from military intelligence. The Ha'aretz article reports that the officers complained to their superiors that "they were simply serving as "rubber stamps" in these legal proceedings." [ Thursday 21 March, 2002 , Ha'aretz, Amos Harel]

The fact that Palestinians of this region are not citizens of the Israeli state is key to understanding the form that punishment of Palestinians has taken. Torture of Palestinians under occupation is explicitly accepted by Israeli law. It is a brutal and sometimes deadly ritual of de-civilization and dehumanization used against a class of people predefined as threats to the security of the State of Israel. Because their status is comparable to that of alien residents, and because the Israeli government views Palestinians foremost in terms of their supposed potential to bring down that state, Israel simultaneously is able to justify--even while oftentimes denying--state-sponsored abuses against Palestinians.

This is completely apparent from the current campaign of mass arrests which targets every male by virtue of the mere fact that they are Palestinian. This is a campaign of arbitrary arrest - as the examples above indicate in a striking fashion. Detainees are not charged with any particular crime and have no recourse to legal procedures. They face torture as a given fact of their arrest. Furthermore, because of the deliberate isolation of prisoners from the outside world, there is no mechanism to oversee Israeli practices inside the detention centers.

Israeli military courts, the antithesis of a justice system

It is a universally accepted standard of international law that the detention of a child should be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time. It has been DCI /PS's repeated experience that the Israeli policy towards Palestinian children is that detention is a measure of "first resort." A prison sentence is the only sentence given to Palestinian children. Since its establishment, DCI/PS has not had one case of a Palestinian child, between 14 and 17 years of age, who was found guilty of committing an "offence" by an Israeli military court, receiving a sentence of anything either than a prison sentence. In addition, experience from the last two years alone indicates that instead of adhering to the principle of the "shortest appropriate period of time," the length of sentences issue to Palestinian children is actually getting longer.

In 1999, 43.51% of the cases DCI /PS represented, received a sentence of less than one month. In the year 2001, than percentage has decreased to 20.21%. Conversely, in 1999 only 19.08% of cases received a sentence of six months to one year, and 6.88% received sentences of more than one year. In 2001, however, 48.94% of cases were sentenced to between six months and one year and 15.96% to more than one year.

Palestine children arrested by the Israeli military are tried in Israeli military courts. The Israeli military courts are merely another arm of Israeli occupation policy and in practice, they constitute the antithesis of a justice system. These courts are not based on any objective legal standards but rather come under the system of Israeli military orders that are issued by the Israeli military authority. These military orders apply only to Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, not to the illegal Israeli settlers living in the area.

This opinion was confirmed by a recent article appearing in one of Israel's leading English language newspapers, Ha'aretz, which reported that many judges serving in Israeli military courts in the West Bank and Gaza Strip lack any legal background or training. Instead, these judges are career military officers from military intelligence. The Ha'aretz article reports that the officers complained to their superiors that "they were simply serving as "rubber stamps" in these legal proceedings." [ Thursday 21 March, 2002 , Ha'aretz, Amos Harel]

The fact that Palestinians of this region are not citizens of the Israeli state is key to understanding the form that punishment of Palestinians has taken. Torture of Palestinians under occupation is explicitly accepted by Israeli law. It is a brutal and sometimes deadly ritual of de-civilization and dehumanization used against a class of people predefined as threats to the security of the State of Israel. Because their status is comparable to that of alien residents, and because the Israeli government views Palestinians foremost in terms of their supposed potential to bring down that state, Israel simultaneously is able to justify--even while oftentimes denying--state-sponsored abuses against Palestinians.

This is completely apparent from the current campaign of mass arrests which targets every male by virtue of the mere fact that they are Palestinian. This is a campaign of arbitrary arrest - as the examples above indicate in a striking fashion. Detainees are not charged with any particular crime and have no recourse to legal procedures. They face torture as a given fact of their arrest. Furthermore, because of the deliberate isolation of prisoners from the outside world, there is no mechanism to oversee Israeli practices inside the detention centers.

VII . Massacre in Jenin Refugee Camp

Reports emanating from residents of the Jenin refugee camp indicate hundreds of dead, a significant percentage undoubtedly children, as well as mass destruction of homes, businesses, and vital infrastructure. Exact figures of dead and injured or of the total level of destruction are impossible to gather given the Israeli military's initial prohibition on movement in and out of the camp and its continued harassment of those trying to provide humanitarian aid and document violations. Numerous local and international organizations, including UN agencies and the ICRC, were repeatedly denied entry to the area. Some organizations have now been able to enter, but the havoc wreaked by the Israeli military have left local and international agencies without the ability to fully help the residents of the camp. Repeated reports indicate that at least 1/3 of the camp appears as though struck by a massive earthquake.

The Jenin refugee camp, established in 1953, was home to approximately 15,000 Palestinian refugees, over half of whom are children. Deputy Representative of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reported that some 3,000 women and children living in and around the Jenin refugee camp have lost their homes as a result of the Israeli military's attack on the camp.

Other reports indicate that hundreds of Palestinian families have been expelled. Around 500 Palestinians have taken shelter in the village of Rumana , near Jenin. Stories of horror continue to emerge from these survivors. Eyewitness testimony repeatedly reports houses being demolished with families still inside. Survivors interviewed in Ruamana report of corpses being bulldozed into mass graves and others being removed from the area by the Israeli military. Families have become separated. Children haven been taken in by other families, but are unable to locate their parents, and vice versa. One Palestinian male reports of how he and his 14 year old son were taken by the Israeli army and used as human shields. Machine guns placed on their shoulders as Israeli soldiers used them as live cover to move through the camp, opening fire randomly. When the soldiers finished with them, they were expelled from the camp. The man's wife and other children were left in the camp and their whereabouts at present are unknown. Another survivor recounts witnessing the families living in a three story building being ordered to move to the first floor and then seeing Israeli military bulldozers demolish the building with the inhabitants still inside.

There can be no doubt that Israeli military action in Jenin refugee camp, action directed by the Israeli government itself, constitutes crimes against humanity.

VIII. Conclusion and Recommendations

As the above information makes clear, Israeli forces have repeatedly attacked Palestinian cultural, municipal, and educational institutions, providing services to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children. Palestinian homes and businesses have been repeatedly attacked, invaded, vandalized, looted, and ransacked. There can be justification for these acts.

There are two important points to be made about the current siege:

a. The financial loss incurred by Israeli actions in the past 18 days will undoubtedly run into the tens of millions. Many of the buildings, institutions, and organizations attacked, along with much of the infrastructure destroyed, was funded by the international community. These attacks have attempted to destroy that which Palestinian society, with the strong financial and technical support of the international community, have succeeded in building over the last nine years. Thus, this attack is not only on Palestinian society, but on the international community as well.

b. Israeli actions during this occupation and, in particular, during this siege, have left an indelible scar on Palestinian society. The consequences of the Israeli attacks are not only material. The physical and psychological damage effects not only the livelihood of the current generation of Palestinian children, but will be felt by generations to come. The very future of Palestinian society is at stake.

Palestinian society has long recognized something about the Israeli pattern of abuse that should be of utmost concern to the international community. Palestinian children, like children anywhere, constitute the future of their society, and as such, are an important element of its continuity. Palestinian children are, symbolically and materially, the reservoir of hope for Palestinian society, a locus for its aspirations for freedom and independence.

Children are the future workers, teachers, politicians, parents, and seekers of justice. For many in the Israeli government, they are the roots of future resistance. In the course of conducting research for a report published in the year 2001, DCI /PS spoke to the principal of the Yakoubiya Girls' School in Hebron . According to this principal, one soldier threatened her saying he would shoot her students. When she asked him why he replied "To prevent them from growing up and producing sons who will throw rocks." It has become apparent through the recent invasions that this view of Palestinian children as legitimate military targets is one that is widespread throughout the Israeli military.

The physical reproduction, social expansion, and overall development of Palestinian society--economically, infrastructurally, culturally-- is exactly what the current Israeli efforts aim to destroy. Israeli government policies, and the individuals interpreting and implementing these policies, are trying to cut the society down from its roots. These efforts are not confined to the killing of children, or even the population in general. Rather, as information regarding the siege demonstrates, the policies, laws, and actions of the Israeli government, its military forces and settlers, conspire together to harm the physical and mental health, education, economy, and geographical integrity of Palestinian society as a whole.

One of the greatest tragedies of recent months is the silent complicity with the Israeli war against Palestinian children. Complicity characterized by endless verbal condemnations, but little practical action on the ground. The following point should be stressed: what the Palestinian people have suffered in the last 18 months far exceeds any comparative period since the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land in 1967.

It should also be stressed that these violations did not suddenly appear. Rather, they are the culmination of the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. The world should not be surprised that Palestinians have refused to accept the consequences or fact of this occupation.

It is imperative that the international community take action now. There have been many examples in the recent past of determined action taken by the international community to address serious violations of international humanitarian law. The examples of the former Yugoslavia , East Timor, Rwanda, Apartheid South Africa are all exemplary cases of this. In fact, these examples can help point the way to action that can be taken by the international community.

But this demand for action is not sufficient by itself. It requires follow-up and it requires enforcement. Otherwise it will be consigned to yet another in the long line of UN resolutions taken to demand Israeli compliance with international law, resolutions which Israel has repeatedly failed to implement.

Thus, DCI /PS urges the Human Rights Commission to recommend the following in its report:

- An immediate, independent investigation into the massacre in Jenin camp.
- The immediate release of Palestinian child political prisoners and an end to child arrests.
- The establishment of an international tribunal for the sole purpose of prosecuting persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law committed in the occupied territories since 29 September 2000 .
- Finally, given the State of Israel's flagrant disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law, as well as that of the United Nations, in particular the Human Rights Commission, the Commission should recommend the implementation of sanctions, including trade sanctions and a prohibition on arms exports to Israel, designed to ensure that Israel, as a member of the community of nations, uphold its obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law.