PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Military trial, detention and treatment of Palestinian children by Israeli authorities (11 April 2021)

That this House notes with concern that Israeli forces continue to arrest, detain and try several hundred Palestinian children in the Israeli military court and detention system each year despite evidence that that process is rife with international law violations; further notes that Israel is the only country in the world that automatically and systematically prosecutes Palestinian children in military courts which lack fundamental fair trial rights and protections; notes that ill-treatment of Palestinian child detainees by Israeli authorities includes widespread physical and psychological violence, blindfolding, strip searches, denial of food and water, position abuse and isolation solely for the purpose of interrogation, and the denial of access to a lawyer before and during interrogations; remarks on the disparity between treatment of Israeli and Palestinian children in Israeli custody; asserts that Israel, as the occupying power under international humanitarian law in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is responsible for protecting the rights of Palestinian children living under military occupation; notes too that the recommendations of the 2012 Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded report, Children in Military Custody, and UNICEF’s 2013 report, Children in Israeli Military Detention, have not been met; believes that in no circumstances should civilians, particularly children, be detained or prosecuted under the jurisdiction of military courts or held in military detention; and urges the Government to engage with the Government of Israel to end the military trial and detention of Palestinian children and, as a minimum safeguard, to respect and ensure basic due process rights and the absolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment.

Sponsored by:
Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party)