The Kidnapping and illegal detention of Children in Palestine

The recent release of the Palestinian papers by ALJAZEERA has certainly stirred things in the Middle East, no one really knows what the eventual outcome of the papers will be, but one thing is for sure it has brought the subject of Palestine to world attention, as its scope is very wide and includes thus far, the (PA) Palestinian Authority, Israeli Government and the US government, especially the focus in the States which is being directed at President Obama and his decision to totally reject the dealings and agreements of his predecessor George Bush.

This has of course brought about the accusation that the US is not in any way an Honest Broker, and furthermore, the feeling on the ground is that the accusation against Mr Obama and his government are NOTHING new to most Palestinians, and more surprising is the fact that a majority of people favoured the Bush / Rice combination, citing their more balanced approach to the situation.

For people who are less familiar with the situation between Israel and the Palestinians, their basic understanding is that the Israeli people only want peace and the end to the rocket fire from Palestinian militants, on the other side, the Palestinian people want a free state and the removal of the occupying forces. However, if nothing else these documents show that this simplistic view of the Middle East (M.E.) as has been fed to readers by some TV news agencies and newspapers is very far from the truth.

The situation in Palestine is one of human struggle on a daily basis for people, and by people, I am talking of ordinary civilians, who are caught up in the conflict for no other reason, than the fact that they live, own homes, livestock within the areas deemed to be used as settlements.
Palestinian property is under dread of being either confiscated or demolished by the Israeli State, regardless of the length of ownership or indeed the lineage of said ownership.

Further to this is the fact that increasingly the IDF have stepped up their campaign of home invasions and kidnappings, some of those taken are as young as 8 years old, and are often taken in the middle of the night from their parents and siblings without prior warning.
The most recent case of kidnappings and home invasions / confiscations, is the case of Ten-year-old Kareem Saleh Tamimi who was playing outside his home in Nabi Saleh this morning (24 January 2011) when an Israeli Special Forces unit officer dressed in civilian clothing, took him.

Tamimi was taken without explanation or allegation, for his sudden kidnap and later detention. Although Tamimi’s lawyers were present at the police station and pleaded with interrogators to allow them to talk with the child, they were only allowed access to their client after almost six hours of Israeli interrogation.

Despite the fact that almost universally it is recognised that children must never be interrogated / Interviewed without an accompanying adult (Parents, Lawyers etc), Tamimi’s Parents were denied access to their son.

The area where Tamimi lives is the village of Nabi Saleh and shortly after his kidnapping Israeli special forces and the IDF surrounded the whole village, this created the fear among those living in the village that the Israeli authority was about to begin house demolitions.

Arrests and kidnapping of minors is something that has been documented in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem over the years, It is certainly not a new, or recent activity by the Israeli special forces and the IDF, in fact kidnappings in the past have given rise to accusations of children being used as human shields, and recently two members of the IDF were convicted of conduct unbecoming, however the sentences given for this most heinous of crimes were simply ONLY token gestures.