Palestinian Children Tortured, Used As Shields By Israel: U.N

[Purveyor]

GENEVA | Thu Jun 20, 2013 12:35pm EDT
(Reuters) - A United Nations human rights body accused Israeli forces on Thursday of mistreating Palestinian children, including by torturing those in custody and using others as human shields.

Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, captured by Israel in the 1967 war, are routinely denied registration of their birth and access to health care, decent schools and clean water, the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child said.

"Palestinian children arrested by (Israeli) military and police are systematically subject to degrading treatment, and often to acts of torture, are interrogated in Hebrew, a language they did not understand, and sign confessions in Hebrew in order to be released," it said in a report.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it had responded to a report by the U.N. children's agency UNICEF in March on ill-treatment of Palestinian minors and questioned whether the U.N. committee's investigation covered new ground.

MORE...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/20/us-palestinian-israel-children-idUSBRE95J0UJ20130620

[bunnies]

1. Inexcusable.

During the 10-year period, an estimated 7,000 Palestinian children aged 12 to 17, but some as young as nine, had been arrested, interrogated and detained, the U.N. report said.

Many are brought in leg chains and shackles before military courts, while youths are held in solitary confinement, sometimes for months, the report said.

wow.

[shira]

2. What the UN forgot to mention today...

...is that the Vice-Chair of the committee accusing Israel of violating children’s rights works for the Saudi government and has a despicable record of apologetics for her country’s misogyny.

About half the members of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child come from non-democracies, many of whom take unfriendly or hostile positions against Israel at the UN, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Tunisia, Egypt, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Russia.

Although the Committee on the Rights of the Child is supposed to be made up of independent, objective and professional experts on human rights, Vice-Chair Aseil Al-Shehail — like too many of her peers on the panel — is none of those things.

more...
http://blog.unwatch.org/index.php/2013/06/20/vice-chair-of-un-rights-panel-works-for-saudi-govt-defends-misogyny/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

And then there's Richard Falk...



The UNHRC is like the KKK trying to sanctimoniously charge "colored people" of abusing white children.

[sabbat hunter]

4. IF anyone

believes that the report was not influenced by the committee members hatred of Israel, then I have a bridge in Brooklyn I want to sell to you.

[shira]

25. Well, it is the UN after all...

This is as true now as it was over 50 years ago...

[azurnoir]

3. Kirsten Sandberg, a Norwegian expert who chairs the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, said

Kirsten Sandberg, a Norwegian expert who chairs the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, said the report was based on facts, not on the political opinions of its members.

"We look at what violations of children's rights are going on within Israeli jurisdiction," she told Reuters.

She said Israel did not acknowledge that it had jurisdiction in the occupied territories, but the committee believed it does, meaning it has a responsibility to comply with the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The report by its 18 independent experts acknowledged Israel's national security concerns and noted that children on both sides of the conflict continue to be killed and wounded, but that more casualties are Palestinian.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/20/us-palestinian-israel-children-idUSBRE95J0UJ20130620

[shira]

13. Kirsten Sandberg's commission is a panel stuffed with sham experts like the Saudi-paid...

...defender of misogyny.

Truly something to be proud of.

[delrem]

5. lemme guess that 'ignored' is complaining that UNHR is "antisemitic".

The term 'antisemitic' covers wide ground, in hasbara. UNHR is a mere tidbit.

That's hasbara's central and unifying red herring, diversion, meme. Where would hasbara be if it couldn't argue that everyone who defends Palestinian rights is antisemitic? If it couldn't use that charge as basis for everything to come?

And that's quite some hammer.

Someone recently told me "stick to the actual facts". Don't get into volatile traps, like that. If you do, they win. That's damn good advice.

[Israeli]

6. its an old trick delrem watch....

as for Hasbara

read :

http://972mag.com/hasbara-why-does-the-world-fail-to-understand-us/27551/

http://972mag.com/close-your-books-were-having-a-pop-quiz-in-hasbara/64946/

[azurnoir]

7. Thank you the theme that criticism of Israel is based on antisemitism

is common in these parts and depending upon ho does pointing it out is also -antisemitism

[Israeli]

8. its difficult for them to call the Israeli Left

antisemitic azurnoir , instead they prefer the term ' self hating Jews ' whatever that means
of course you could always call Shulamit Aloni a liar

[shira]

11. Not self-hating. They truly love themselves. n/t

[King_David]

18. Not self hating,

You guys are the only righteous Jews amongst a majority of the other kind of Jews.
Only some "righteous " Jews get to play in the sandpit with the crowd such as half the people in this forum because us "unsophisticated " Jews just don't get it.

[Israeli]

43. "unsophisticated " ????

Not a term we hear over here King_David......

The settlers prefer the term " salt of the earth " and the Right think they are the " good guys "

See : ....

[shira]

44. Show me a supporter of Palestinians (Jew or Non-Jew) who....

...spends about as much time condemning Arab-on-Arab violence in the Palestinian territories, or Palestinian apartheid under neighboring Arab regimes.

Who are these supporters?

They don't exist.

The people you are describing are anti-Israel, not pro-Palestinian.

[Israeli]

45. B'Tselem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories .

They are neither anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian shira
they are for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories

but , you dont think the Palestinians children deserve to be treated as human
do you shira ?

[shira]

46. Actually, B'tselem's annual report shows Palestinian children don't deserve...

...to be treated as human beings by Hamas or the PLO. Here's B'tselem's 2011 report. There's nothing there about Palestinian leadership abusing children:

http://www.btselem.org/download/2011_annual_report_eng.pdf

It's not as if there's nothing for B'tselem to report. There's plenty...

http://palestinianchildabuse.com

[Israeli]

47. probably because ....

B'tselem deals in facts shira ,
that website you sent me to ... have you any idea who is behind it ?
Not very transparent are they ?

Here they are very transparent , see :

http://www.masada2000.org/shit-list.html

we are all on it shira .... its a badge of honor .

[shira]

48. Now you're just making excuses for ignoring Palestinian child abuse.

There are mountains of video evidence at the http://palestinianchildabuse.com website of Palestinian crimes against children. They're facts you're simply not interested in, which goes to show you couldn't give a damn about children or human rights abuses in general unless Israel can be blamed for them.

Say what you will about some rightwing Zionists, even the masada2000 freaks. But I'm not sure they hate and loathe Palestinians as much as your friends and fellow advocates. I'm sure Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the most militant PLO extremists appreciate your silence while they go on doing their vile work.

[Israeli]

9. another two links worth reading ....

http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=43890

and ...

http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=35981

but we are getting off topic ... and that is exactly what it is all about

so lets get back to the children ....

[shira]

10. Antiracists who have no knowledge of antisemitism are adorable....

...especially those arguing it's non-existant.

[delrem]

16. Yes, I'm afraid that something good and true is being perverted toward an unjust end.

My first understanding of Israel was through the RC church. My early education was in a RC school taught by RC nuns. Even my adult education was guided in a large part by Jesuit scholars (and I'm an atheist). The RC church does readings in the Old and New Testaments and there's a tremendous emphasis on the stories of the Old Testament. The RC church doesn't give much of a damn about inconsistencies in its readings. In primary school I was taught about Israel. Something of a "promised land" aka "eden" was projected, where nothing negative was said but the entire positive repository was unloaded. I was entranced and it has influenced me all my life.

Central to the abbreviated Israel story that we elementary grade students were told was that of the "Kibbutz". Of course what is told to and understood by an elementary RC school kid about what it is to be a "Kibbutz" in Israel is going to be Disneyesque. We raised money for Israel with that picture in mind.

Even in hindsight I think the Kibbutz idea was/is a good one. The fact that you live in a Kibbutz proves that. This is especially so (but not only so) because of the recent history of WW2 and the holocaust, which should never be forgotten. Without doubt the holocaust was much worse than described in official/proven reports.

In contrast, hasbara in 2013 is a mendacious pile of lies attempting to cover up the unconscionable.

[Israeli]

17. its not important where someone lives ...

what is important is to fight the Right , see :

http://meretz.org.il/weaken/

In contrast, hasbara in 2013 is a mendacious pile of lies attempting to cover up the unconscionable.

The unconscionable is the occupation and hasbara today is the way to excuse it and the fascist and apartheid laws this Gov (last and this one) has passed and is trying now to pass on to all of us .

[shira]

12. The UNHRC is antisemitic. That's a fact. Why deny or play it down? n/t

[shira]

14. Sri Lanka envoy boasts how he got UNHRC to *praise* his country after...

....it killed 40,000 civilians.


http://www.dailynews.lk/2013/06/20/fea03.asp …

The UN Geneva is brought to life in Weiss’ volume: “On May 27 at the Palais des nations in Geneva, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanetham Pillay, addressed the Human Rights Council and called for an international inquiry into the conduct of both parties to the war. While the EU and a brace of other countries formulated and then moved a resolution in support of Pillay’s call, a majority of countries on the council rejected it out of hand. Instead they adopted an alternative motion framed by Sri Lanka’s representatives praising the Sri Lankan government for its victory over the Tigers...” (p229)

[Israeli]

15. you had your say shira ...

can we get back to the children now ?

http://www.mahsanmilim.com/childrensjudgeE.htm

Courtroom number 2. The children’s court. Every Monday. On the podium, judge Sharon Rivlin Ahai. From 9 a.m. until close to 6 p.m. Boy follows boy. A boy and then another child. Wearing brown prison garb. Chained feet. Shackled hands, one hand shackled to that of another boy. Some of them are so small that their feet wave in the air when they are seated on the bench. Some of them are so small that our eyes look away. Most of them are accused of throwing stones. Molotov cocktails. Most of them are not released on bail, have not been interrogated in the presence of an adult – parent or social worker. Most of them were picked up in the dead of night. All these are violations of the international law in defense of children, even those under occupation. Most of them were arrested following denunciation, mostly by some other child, who – like them – was taken in the dead of night because someone else gave in his name. And most of them confessed, if not immediately then later on, of anything they were told to admit.

That is how it usually happens. A child is arrested for one reason or another. And he is told, give us fifteen names and we’ll let you go. First he says, no way. Eventually he gives them names. Usually they are the names of boys he knows, his age, sometimes of boys he’d never met, in order to supply the required number. And already the deal is made between the prosecution and the defense, and with it the corrected indictment sheet.
Because finally he confessed like everyone else, regardless whether or not he really did the deeds of which he is accused.
After all, even if he did, how would the occupation forces know whether he ever threw a stone or not? Only because someone said so?
But apparently this really does not matter much. The main thing is the power that tramples. That there are more means to recruit collaborators. The main thing is to brutalize. To crush. To intimidate. Not as a means but as an end.

It is hard to say what it is about this terrible place that is worse than others. Which darkness is darker, more painful. Is it the mothers and their broken hearts? Or the helplessness of the father whose child is abandoned, and he has not the power to protect him. Is it the horror of the little ones, the feeling that this is a sold game in which no one cares for the truth, be it as it may, because this system does not enable one to find out the truth. That this is not really a court, but only another tool of occupation. Where Palestinians are guilty unless proven otherwise. Even if proven otherwise. Guilty because they are Palestinians.

[shira]

19. Get back to the children? It's not about them...

Last edited Sun Jun 23, 2013, 12:01 PM - Edit history (2)

Palestinian children suffer far more under Hamas/Fatah rule or under apartheid conditions in Lebanon and Egypt, but people wouldn't know anything bad happens when the regressive, pro-Hamas, illiberal groups you quote from only focus narrowly on alleged Israeli violations (many that are fictional).

All children count, both Palestinian and Israeli.

It's a shame the groups you support and rely on only look to bash Israel while deliberately ignoring the vast majority who continue to suffer. The very existence of those groups should be a crime in itself. That's the kind of advocacy you support...

[Scootaloo]

28. "It's not about them"

It's about desperately deflecting from wrongdoing on Israel's part. Egypt! Lebanon! Bhutan! Canada! ANYWHERE!

[shira]

30. Nope. It's about bashing Israel. Not about the kids....

Your friends in power from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt are demanding that you and others look only at Israel while they literally get away with murder, and worse...

And you comply, happily.

[Scootaloo]

32. Says the pro-bono defender of ethnic cleansing.

[shira]

34. Coming from an apartheid supporter like yourself, I'll take that...

...as a compliment.

You know, the invisible, fake, pretend apartheid vs. Palestinians in Lebanon or Syria that you're commanded to never talk about...

You support their "rights" nonetheless.

[azurnoir]

38. "that you're commanded to never talk about... "

commanded by who exactly?

[azurnoir]

31. maybe the title of the thread was ummm forgotten or something

however I guess now UNICEF is added to a prestigious list of anti-Israel organizations that according to the poster you're addressing includes Care International and Save the Children too

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=124&topic_id=368781&mesg_id=368781

but it was refreshing to see that they at least figured out that it is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and not the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that is the subject of the OP

[shira]

35. Nope, it's not about Palestinian kids abused by Hamas or the PLO...

It never is when it comes to the UN.

You know that.

Apparently, Palestinian kids only have human rights if Israel can be bashed...

Your kind of advocacy.

Congrats...

[azurnoir]

39. you condemn Care International, Save the Children, and UNICEF

all for being anti-Israel because they criticize Israel for it's treatment of Palestinian children

[shira]

40. They should be condemned for NOT reporting abuses vs. children....

...committed by Hamas and the PLO. It's their JOB.

Anyone with a shred of human decency would agree...

[azurnoir]

42. your correct this thread is not about Hamas or the PLO

albeit your wasting bandwidth attempting to deflect and point it that way

[azurnoir]

20. There is also a UNICEF report from March of this year

Israel mistreats Palestinian children in custody: UNICEF

Palestinian children detained by the Israeli military are subject to widespread, systematic ill-treatment that violates international law, a UNICEF report said on Wednesday.

.......................................

According to the report, ill-treatment of Palestinian minors typically begins with the arrest itself, often carried out in the middle of the night by heavily armed soldiers, and continues all the way through prosecution and sentencing.

"The pattern of ill-treatment includes ... the practice of blindfolding children and tying their hands with plastic ties, physical and verbal abuse during transfer to an interrogation site, including the use of painful restraints," the report said.

It said minors, most of whom are arrested for throwing stones, suffer physical violence and threats during their interrogation, are coerced into confession and do not have immediate access to a lawyer or family during questioning.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/06/us-palestinians-israel-children-idUSBRE9250D520130306

[shira]

21. UNICEF has yet to release a report on Palestinian children mistreated....

...by Hamas or the PLO (whether used as human shields, honor killings, indoctrination to become suicide bombers).

They know it's happening, but refuse to report on it.

[azurnoir]

22. ah so now UNICEF is also an Israel hating organization

I take it, still doesn't change the facts in the report does it?

[shira]

23. Why hasn't UNICEF released a report WRT Palestinian child abuse?

Supporting UNICEF's continued efforts to shield Hamas and the PLO from their child abuse goes to show that pro-Palestinian advocacy today is nothing of the sort; it's morally depraved anti-Israel bigotry and hatred.

I'm not sure it's possible to hate Palestinians more than the so-called pro-Palestinian crowd hates them.

[azurnoir]

24. well there's something that's rather 'depraved' going on here

that's for sure

[shira]

26. You let us know when you find a UNICEF report showing concern....

...for Palestinian children abused by Hamas and the PLO.

It'd be nice to know UNICEF actually gives a fuck.

[azurnoir]

27. "us"? no one here besides you is making such a demand, not even the Israeli government

who seemed at least to give UNICEF's report some credence and said they'd look into it or something

[shira]

29. The correct response from someone who really cares about Palestinian children...

...would go something like you realize UNICEF isn't doing its job, it makes you confused or angry, and that you'd like to see UNICEF do reports on all rights violations against Palestinian children.

[azurnoir]

33. yes yes now UNICEF isn't doing what you want or what you feel their job should be

been there seen it heard it all before ................

hasn't Im Tirzu or one of those 'liberal' Israeli organizations you like to tout done one themselves, if not I'm shocked they aren't doing their job supporting Israel, right?

[shira]

36. Why don't YOU want UNICEF reporting on ALL rights violations vs. children...

...in that part of the world?

Like those from Hamas against both Palestinian and Israeli children?

Isn't that what ALL progressives should want?

[azurnoir]

37. oh so now I do not want UNICEF reporting what Hamas does to children

according to you ?

[shira]

41. The fact is they don't, and you're not at all bothered by it...

...even though you claim you're all about equal rights for all.

Seems that like them, you're only for equal rights for some.