Palestinian child prisoner Shadi Farrah, 13, one of the youngest children imprisoned by the Israeli state, will face a sentencing hearing on 29 November, at which Israeli prosecutors’ recommended two-year sentence in addition to the year he has spent imprisoned will be approved by the judge in the case.

Shadi and his friend Ahmad al-Zaatari were seized by Israeli occupation soldiers on 29 December in their village of Kufr Aqab as they walked through the village. They were seized and interrogated for days and accused of possession of a knife with the intended purpose of carrying out a resistance action against Israeli soldiers. The alleged knife was never used or pulled out by either boy; they are accused of having the knife inside their bag. Even this allegation is denied by Shadi’s family.

This sentencing comes as part of a plea agreement which was accepted by Shadi’s family because, Shadi’s mother said, the Israeli prosecution threatened to postpone Shadi’s sentencing until after his 14th birthday, in which case he would receive an even longer term, citing the recent cases of Muawiya Alqam, Ahmad Manasrah, Munther Aby Mayalah and Mohammed Taha.  Ahmad is facing a similar plea agreement.

29 November also marks the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people. Shadi’s mother expressed her dissatisfaction with the Palestinian Authority’s approach to child prisoners, saying that there was more international official attention to Shadi’s case than official attention from PA institutions.

During his imprisonment, Shadi has been confined at the Al-Masra youth detention center, a facility for teens usually incarcerated on theft, assault or drug charges, where he has faced a difficult time. Because he is under 14, he is not held with other Palestinian political or “security” prisoners. He and his family have struggled with the arrangement of family visits; given his location, they have had to arrange their visits privately and pay almost 800 NIS (approximately $200 USD) per trip.

Fellow Palestinian child prisoner Osama Mourad Zeidat, 14, was shot in the back and foot by Israeli soldiers on 23 September 2016 near the Kiryat Arba Israeli colonial settlement in al-Khalil.  Military court hearings in Osama’s case at Ofer have been continued several times and are now set for 13 November.

Osama, from the village of Bani Naim near al-Khalil, is still suffering from the effects of his injury and is being treated in the Ramle prison clinic in poor conditions alongside other sick and injured prisoners. His mother told Asra Media that one bullet entered his back and exited his chest and that the other was lodged in his foot. He was kept for 18 days in Shaare Tzedek hospital and prevented from receiving family visits for that entire time, before his transfer to the Ramle prison clinic.  In fact, when he was brought to the military court on 1 November, he was shackled to a hospital bed.

There are nearly 400 Palestinian child prisoners held in Israeli prisons, including 13 minor girls and several children imprisoned under administrative detention, held without charge or trial.  Defence for Children International Palestine has reported that Palestinian children routinely face beatings, solitary confinement, interrogation without parents or a lawyer, threats of sexual violence and psychological torture during their arrest and interrogation by Israeli occupation forces; many of these child prisoners arrested in pre-dawn violent military raids on their family homes.

Two more Palestinian children were hit with lengthy sentences by an Israeli court on Monday, 7 November. The two Jerusalemite boys, Munther Abu Mayalah, 15, and Mohammed Taha, 16, were each sentenced to 11 years in Israeli prison; each was also fined 50,000 NIS (approximately $13,000 USD).

The two boys are Palestinian refugees from the Shuafat refugee camp in Jerusalem. Monther and Mohammed were accused of “attempted murder” for allegedly attempting to stab an Israeli settler youth at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on 30 January 2016. The 17-year-old in question was allegedly “lightly wounded.” They were also convicted of “possession of a knife.”

The sentences against the two boys come on top of the 12-year sentence meted out to 14-year-old Ahmad Manasrah, also yesterday. Israeli occupation prosecutors are seeking a 15-year sentence against 17-year-old Nurhan Awad. In Israeli courts, Palestinian children accused of “security” offenses are subject to sentencing equal to an adult for any offense carrying a potential sentence of greater than five years’ imprisonment. Such allegations include common pretexts for imprisoning Palestinian children, such as stone-throwing or affiliation with a prohibited organization.

These lengthy sentences against Palestinian children come hand in hand with the use of administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial, against Palestinian minors, as well as the extrajudicial execution of 57 Palestinian children since October 2015. There are approximately 400 Palestinian children imprisoned now, mostly in Megiddo and Ofer prisons, including 13 Palestinian girls imprisoned in HaSharon prison.

We reiterate our message on the sentencing of Ahmad Manasrah and urge escalated international solidarity actions in response to the ongoing attacks on Palestinian children. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network condemns the sentencing of Monther Abu Mayalah, Mohammed Taha and Ahmad Manasrah, and demands their immediate release and that of all imprisoned Palestinian children. We further call for international action to compel the Israeli state to respect the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and end international military aid and assistance that funds the imprisonment and torture of Palestinian children. The imprisonment, oppression, and killing of Palestinian children by the Israeli occupation is part and parcel of the Israeli colonial project in Palestine, and the only true freedom for Palestinian children will be achieved through the freedom of the Palestinian people and Palestinian land.