Palestinian Children as Young as 12 Can Now Be Legally Imprisoned by IsraelBy James Holbrooks The new law, passed by legislators as the Youth Bill, allows authorities to imprison a minor convicted of serious crimes such as murder, attempted murder or manslaughter even if he or she is under the age of 14, the Knesset said in a press release. But the originator of the bill, Anat Berko, was quoted in that same statement as saying that for those who are murdered with a knife in the heart it does not matter if the child is 12 or 15. The laws passage was immediately criticized, even at home. Rather than sending them to prison, Israel would be better off sending them to school where they could grow up in dignity and freedom, not under occupation, Israeli human rights group BTselem said in a statement, adding that,Imprisoning such minors denies them the chance of a better future. The revelation comes at the same time the United Nations Security Council slammed Israel for its treatment of children in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Venezuelas ambassador to the U.N., Rafael Ramirez, for instance, stated that Israel denies Palestinian children their status as minors, and subjects them to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Violence between Palestinians and the IDF the Israel Defense Forces has seen a sharp increase since the tail end of 2015 in the Israeli-occupied territories of Gaza, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. Concurrently, the number of Palestinian children detained by the IDF has reached record numbers, according to an April report by human rights group Defense for Children International Palestine. According to the DCIP report, for instance, three-quarters of detained children spoke of physical abuse while in custody, and in nearly 90 percent of cases, parents werent informed of where their children had been taken. The DCIP findings echo those of UNICEF, who in 2013 published a report which concluded that ill-treatment of Palestinian children in the Israeli military detention system appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalized. In June, a group of 20 concerned Congressman sent a letter to President Obama urging the administration to send a special envoy to Palestine in order to grasp the full scope of the suffering of children under the occupation. Noting that nearly half of the population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is under the age of 18, the letter states this enormous youth cohort represents another generation of Palestinian children growing up under military occupation with very few opportunities to improve their lives. Apart from the military campaigns Israel periodically wages against Palestine in purported self-defense, much of Palestinian antipathy is rooted in the settler movement, which sees homes and lands razed in the West Bank and Gaza to allow for new domiciles for Israeli citizens. This activity was found to wholly illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004, which concluded in its report that Israeli settlements in Palestine violate one of the Geneva conventions and thus have been established in breach of international law. The U.N. came to similar conclusions in its own 2013 report. Writes The Guardian: All settlement activity in occupied territory must cease without preconditions and Israel must immediately initiate a process of withdrawal of all settlers, said the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Israel, it said, was in violation of article 49 of the fourth Geneva convention, which forbids the transfer of civilian populations to occupied territory. The U.N. warned Israel it could face charges at the International Criminal Court if it failed to comply, but has since done nothing in the way of enforcement. In the meantime, the destruction of Palestinian homes and businesses continues. As recently as a month ago, the Israeli government approved funding for more settlements. Despite condemnation from international bodies and human rights groups for the wars, the treatment of Palestinian youth, the illegal settlements, and, indeed, the occupation itself the United States continues to support Israel both financially and militarily. The U.S. already gives Israel $3 billion a year in security aid, but as of February, Israel is seeking to up that amount to $5 billion. In July, the White House offered to substantially increase the military aid package to Israel, which already stands at around $30 billion. The bump would bring that number closer to $40 billion making it the largest pledge of military assistance to any country in U.S. history. This doesnt sit well with everyone, however even some among Israels supporters. Greg Slabodkin, former researcher for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), recently wrote a piecefor The Hill in which he shares his thoughts on how the relationship between the United States and Israel should move forward. U.S. aid to the Jewish state should be tied to progress in the peace process and respect for Palestinian human rights, he said. And he closed the article by stating: The Obama administration should make it clear that there are strings attached to U.S. aid and that Israels failure to comply with a settlement freeze will have financial consequences. This article (Palestinian Children as Young as 12 Can Now Be Legally Imprisoned by Israel) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to James Holbrooks andUndergroundReporter.org. If you spot a typo, please email the error and the name of the article toundergroundreporter2016@gmail.com. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons/Justin McIntosh beautiful fresh human organs to renew and replenish ugly and aging ISISraeli human-like population Indeed! Such are these forever evil Cannibal ZioNazis see Turkey arrests Israeli organ trafficking suspect; Boris Walker, wanted by Interpol, was arrested in Turkey after landing from Bangkok. He was targeting Syrian refugees in Turkey., World Bulletin News, 05 December 2015! Are we surprised anymore by such barbarity?! After all, Snowden revealed that IS/ISIS was actually formed by MOSSAD/CIA; here it is in French Report ISIL Leader Mossad Agent By GPD on August 4, 2014! Thanks to the brave Snowden. And this is why for the grave EVIL! See How Mossad Controls Our Political Parties, by Christopher Bollyn, 25 October 2008! Thus it means Central ISra*l Agency! See also Palestinian Buried After Body Withheld for 65 Days, Posted on February29, 2016 by Richard Edmondson! These ZioNazis are really the real Hannibal Lecters no wonder in one operation when they bombed Gaza in endless Genocide, they name it Hannibal Operation! What is it going to take to get people to reject illegitimate laws? It wont happen even the UN is suspected to be controlled by the ZioNazis! See Palestinians condemns Israeli UN appointment: Israel on Monday was elected to chair a UN committee for the first time in the world bodys 71-year history, triggering strong protests from Arab countries and the Palestinians, World Bulletin / News Desk, 16 June 2016 Thursday! Sub-human AIPAC queer backers. Even the poor Indigenous Palestinian children are not safe from such colonial ZioNazi Lucifer beasts! Nothing has changed since the days of Isaiah and Jesus. Rabbinical oral and talmudic law are of men, not God, based on hate all others they consider non-people (human). They write and confide around what is good to justify their abominable actions. They always have, and always will act like Canaanites. 