The Palestinian Ministry of Detainees and Ex--detainees Affairs accused the Israeli government of continuously violating the rights of the Palestinian detainees, including children, and depriving them of their fundamental rights guaranteed by international law.
A report released by the Children and Youth Department of the Ministry revealed that there are currently 312 children, including 12 females, imprisoned in extremely poor living conditions and receiving harsh treatment, and that there are more than 450 detainees who were imprisoned as children and reached the age of 18 while still in detention.
The Israeli prison authorities deprive the detainees of their fundamental rights, rights guaranteed by international law, and they are often detained without being told the reason for their arrest.
The ministry reported that Israeli actions also violate the international agreements concerning the rights of children to be protected and their rights to grow in a healthy environment.
States the report, "The Israeli occupation treats Palestinian children as criminals, exposing them to all sorts of torture and abuse, in addition to barring them from their visitation rights “.
Also, the report revealed that the Israeli government has “racist rules” which allow them to deal with Israeli imprisoned children in a different way and according to different rules than the rules used when charging and prosecuting Palestinian children.
In Israeli, every person under the age of 18 is considered a child, while Palestinian children over the age of 16 are treated like adults. Recently, the Israeli high court issued a ruling which authorizes the army to arrest any Palestinian child who has reached the age of 12, completely ignoring the Geneva accords and International Humanitarian Law.
George Abuzulif, of Defense for Children International, commented, "During the recent highly-publicized Israeli prisoner releases, they did not release a single child prisoner. And I think children should be given the priority. On the contrary, in our recent study, just in the month of December, 20 children were arrested from a single village! So I believe children are targeted by the Israeli occupation, and I don't think the Palestinian Authority can do anything in this regard -- to protect children from being abused, arrested, killed or injured by the Israeli army."
The Palestinian Ministry report revealed that there are 20 Palestinian children who are currently being held without any charges, and have been placed in administrative detention without any trial.
"In Israeli detention centers and prisons there are 30 child prisoners suffering from health problems and deprived of needed medical care and medication. Some of them need surgery”, the ministry's report revealed.
The report also noted that the Israeli prison administration repeatedly imposes high fines on the detainees and their families, which is becoming a burden on the Palestinian economy (in which there is currently 60% unemployment -- an effect of the current intifada, which began in 2000).
From the beginning of 2004 until the present, the Israeli authorities imposed fines on over 75% of the imprisoned children, the average amount of each imposed fine was 400 US Dollars.
Statistics:
Palestinian children in Israeli prisons:
| Prison | Number of children |
| Telmond Hasharon & Ophic | 105 |
| Ofer and Benjamin | 58 |
| Negev | 36 |
| Majeddo | 47 |
| Salem | 2 |
| Huwwara | 3 |
| Al-Jalama | 6 |
| Atzion | 40 |
| Al-Maskobiyya | 10 |
| Al-Ramleh | 6 |
Palestinian children and type of detention:
| Detention | Number |
| Held (interrogation, without charge) | 220 |
| Sentenced | 74 |
| Administrative detention (no trial) | 18 |
Palestinian children according to location
| District | Number |
| Jerusalem | 220 |
| Hebron | 74 |
| Nablus | 18 |
| Ramallah | 23 |
| Tulkarem | 52 |
| Qalqilia | 90 |
| Jenin | 35 |
| Bethlehem | 18 |
| Gaza | 8 |
Palestinian children according to year of imprisonment
| Year | Number |
| 2001 | 2 |
| 2002 | 10 |
| 2003 | 69 |
| 2004 | 231 |
Children according to age
| Age | Number |
| 12-14 | 8 |
| 15-16 | 92 |
| 17-18 | 212 |