David Ward MP's West Bank Diary - Day Four
A Palestinian child prisoner
Today we meet Mark Regev, the Israeli Prime Minister's Spokesman who once said "the test of democracy is how you treat people incarcerated, people in jail, and especially so with minors". These words have to stand alongside the evidence we heard yesterday from an Australian lawyer who offers support to the Palestinian children who the IDF take by force in the early hours of the morning.
The young people, maybe 15 or 16 years old are blind-folded, handcuffed with cable-ties and thrown into the back of vans and often kept in this state for several hours. The children then find themselves without support from family or legal representation in an interrogation room without any advice on their rights.
The coercive interrogation that follows is often accompanied by verbal abuse and physical threats leading to a "confession" written in a language they cannot read.
It might be another 8 days before the young person appears in Court and this may be the first time they have seen their parents or a lawyer since they were arrested. The "crime" is usually stone-throwing.
A young Israeli accused of a crime would not be forcefully taken by the Military and would have the right to be accompanied to the Police station by their parents. The case would be dealt with immediately and the young Israeli would be entitled to full legal representation.
Today we shall see if Mr. Regev believes that his Government adequately meets his own test.
Here are the links for David's other diary entries from his trip to the West Bank:
David Ward MP's West Bank Diary - Day One
David Ward MP's West Bank Diary - Day Two