Israel condemned for night raids against Palestinian children

SMA NEWS – RAMALLAH
Israel has been condemned for its use of night raids against Palestinian children in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israeli Human Rights organization HaMoked said that Israeli security forces arrest hundreds of children a year in planned raids that cause trauma for all involved.

In “On Flimsy Grounds: Israel’s Pervasive Night Arrests of Palestinian Children,” published on Jan. 16, the group said that the practice was often a first recourse, even when a child was only detained for a short time and released without charge.

In 125 cases it examined last year, The group found that not one Palestinian family received a summons before Israeli forces stormed their homes.

It said that Israel’s refusal to reduce the use of the tactic suggests that it is purposefully used to intimidate the Palestinian population.

The latest accusation against Israeli forces came as the Palestinian Ministry of Health said that a 14-year-old Omar Lotfi Khumour was shot in the head and killed on Monday by Israeli soldiers in Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem.

Crowds of Palestinians massed outside the hospital where the teenager was taken, chanting protests against Israel.

The death raised the number of Palestinians killed by Israel since the start of the year to 14, including four children.