By Imani Jean-Gilles Posted on

Palestine

The Detained Children of Palestine 

This podcast focuses on my visit to Palestine, where I met activist Ivan Karkashian, who speaks about the wrongful incarceration of Palestinian youth in Israel and Palestinian territories.

(Photo Credit: Imani Jean-Gilles)

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The Detained Children of Palestine Podcast Script 

I was walking through the hustle and bustle of the old city of Jerusalem. A city that takes you back thousands of years, a city that blends history, religion and culture. Vendors with vibrant colored spices on every corner. The old cobblestone paths take you to another time. The ancient architecture reflects on the different empires that have conquered and left their mark on this Holy City in the past few millennia.

In the streets merchants are waving you down to sell to their best jewelry or trinkets. Or bakers trying to convince you why they have the best kanafeh (a Palestinian desert) in all of Jerusalem the compact city and high energy is like a scene straight from a movie.

As the sun sets and night falls on the old city, the shops are closed, and the bustle dies down. Everyone goes home except for some.

On every major intersection, corner, or entrance of the old city stand the Israeli Defense Forces soldiers or commonly known as IDF soldiers. That intimidatingly stand guard and watch over all that enter the city.

As I was walking back with a group to my hotel that night I saw about 7 guards abusing two Palestinian young-adults near one of the entrances of the old city. As we walked closer the IDF soldiers stopped what they were doing and started to stare at us as if saying “there is nothing to see here.”

This type of police brutality is nothing new to Jerusalem or the state of Palestine. This is a chronic issue that plagues the society, where children are wrongfully convicted of crimes or given unbelievable punishments. But Palestinians and other allies have teamed together to create organizations that combat the unjust judicial system in Israel & Palestine

One organization is called Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP for short)

Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP) is committed to securing a just and viable future for Palestinian children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

For more than twenty years, they have supported and advocated for this child population: investigating and documenting grave human rights violations, holding both Israeli and Palestinian authorities to account, and providing legal services to children in urgent need. They will continue to demand national and international bodies enact stronger measures to safeguard this vulnerable demographic of Palestinian society. ( http://www.dci-palestine.org/who_we_are )

  • In my time in Jerusalem I got the chance to speak to Ivan Karkashian , who is the advocacy unit coordinator of DCIP. This is what Karkashian  had to say about the mistreatment of  Palestinian youth : ” Audio clip of  Karkashian”

In recent news, Ahmed Tamimi, a 16-year-old Palestinian girl who kicked and slapped an Israeli soldier, could face 14 years in jail.

According to Newsweek, Tamimi’s family and friends have said she was reacting to an earlier incident in which an Israeli soldier shot her 14 year old cousin, Muhammad Tamimi, in the head with a rubber bullet at close  range putting him in an 72 hour medically induced coma, he survived but still remains badly injured.

Ahmed Tamimi caused no bodily harm to the IDF solider and could be charged with over a decade of jail time.

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Now to bring our U.S. law into perspective, it’s very important, to understand the contrast between Israeli Law vs. U.S.  Law, even though U.S law varies state by state. I’ve chosen Florida as an example to compare the two.

In Florida anyone convicted of General Battery (not causing great bodily harm) against an officer can be charged as a 3rd degree felony in Florida punishable by up to five years in reason, five years’ probation, and $5000 fine.

The lightest sentence under this statute is six months to one year in county jail for assault against an office, charged as a 1st degree misdemeanor. The outcome varies from case by case, and what jurisdiction you are charged in.

Though the U.S. judicial system is not flawless, that’s a conversation for another time these punishments vary between Adults and Minors.

While in Israel, West Bank, and Gaza their harsh punishments are not only placed on the adults, but children also suffer unrealistically long sentences and go through agonizing torment as soon as they are accused, found, or arrested at their homes.

And this is what DCIP objective wants to end. This organization wants to stop the discriminative judicial system, and they want to start with the children who are suffering the most from being denied access to school and having to start working menial jobs that can only take them so far into society. As children they have the right to a higher education and freedom.

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