Israeli Forces Must Stop Detention of Minors in Border Areas and Lift Gaza Siege

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights (Al Mezan) condemns the continued arrest by Israeli forces of Palestinian civilians in the Israeli-imposed access restricted areas (ARA), which serve as a mechanism of maintaining the illegal closure of the Gaza Strip. The recent escalation in arrests by Israeli forces are notably carried out against Palestinian children and take place within the context of siege and closure that has sustained desperate conditions in the Gaza Strip that are verging on unlivable. 

According to Al Mezan’s monitoring and documentation, in 2015 Israeli forces have conducted 25 arrest operations that resulted in the arrest of 42 Palestinians, including 19 children.

At approximately 4:00 pm on Wednesday, 9 September 2015, the Israeli forces arrested three children while they were trying to sneak across the separation fence that is northeast Al Bureij refugee camp. Al Mezan has identified them as follows:

• Sami Abdullah Sa’eed, 17;
• Mahmoud Hussein Sa’eed, 17; and
• Abdel Samad Mohammed Abu Khussa, 16.

The children are residents of block (7) in Al Bureij refugee camp. According to information available to Al Mezan, the three neighbors went together to the eastern separation fence. A number of residents of the border area saw them. After two hours, their families started to look for them. They were informed that the three children had approached the separation fence whereby Israeli forces threatened the children, ordered them to put their hands in the air, and then took them to an unknown location.  

At approximately 6:30 pm on Monday, 7 September 2015, Israeli forces arrested Mohammed Sabri Iq’ees, 22 and Fawaz Mohammed Abu ‘Akeirsh, 21, as they approached the separation fence. According to Al Mezan’s field investigations, the two young men are from Al Syafa area, west Jabalia, and they were trying to cross the separation fence to find a job. The Abu ‘Akerish family received a phone call from the Israeli side informing them that that their son and Iq’ees had been detained and were being held at Ashqelon Prison.

Al Mezan emphasizes that the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip for more than eight years severely restricts the movement of people in and out of the Gaza Strip and prevents the unhindered entry of basic goods and materials.  Such materials are needed for necessary reconstruction; without reconstruction, the economic and humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip are continuing to deteriorate.  Unemployment in Gaza, according to the World Bank, is the highest in the world and is the result of the blockade and closure of the Gaza Strip in conjunction with Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s industrial and commercial infrastructure.  

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate among youth aged 20-24 years old is 45.6% in the fourth quarter of 2014. The highest unemployment rate is in Dier Al Balah district with 49.9%. It’s known that estimations related to the unemployment in the Gaza Strip are not accurate. Estimates show that unemployment among youth, particularly graduates, following Israel’s 2014 military aggression and the destruction of industrial and commercial facilities in the Gaza Strip is currently resting around 80%.    

Al Mezan reiterates its strong condemnation of the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and the Israeli escalation in arrest of civilians who are attempting to access their rights to freedom of movement, livelihood, and to live in dignity. Al Mezan asserts that the more than eight-year Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip gravely violates a number of human rights according to international law. Further, the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip hinders the Palestinian Authority and the international community in taking any effective procedures to end the deterioration in the humanitarian and human rights conditions.

Al Mezan emphasizes that the failure of the international community to uphold its legal and moral obligations towards Palestinians has encouraged Israeli violations.  

Al Mezan calls on the international community to promptly intervene to end the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, to ensure the free-flow of basic materials needed for reconstruction, and to allow the free movement and travel of people in and out of the Gaza Strip, in particular, access to Palestinian territory in the West Bank. Al Mezan asserts that the Israeli collective punishment results in grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law that amount to crimes against humanity.

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