Imprisonment of Palestinian children violates International Law:

The American Human Rights Council (AHRC-USA) joins the world's human rights community in expressing its solidarity with the Palestinian children prisoners in Israeli prisons. These children prisoners have been subject to arbitrary imprisonment, abuse, mistreatment, torture and the denial of the most rudimentary of rights.

Hundreds of Palestinian children aged 5-16 years old are being held in Israeli prisons and subjected to harsh and inhumane treatment and conditions. AHRC is deeply concerned about the safety and the wellbeing of Palestinian children and calls on governments and NGOs worldwide to pressure the Israeli authorities to adhere to international law and norms that govern the treatment of the civilian population living under an occupation regime, especially as to the rights of children. Israel should not be allowed to continue to violate the human rights of Palestinian children with apparent impunity.

One of the best known Palestinian child prisoners is teenage girl Ahed Tamimi, an icon of Palestinian peaceful resistance to an occupation that is illegal and dates back to 1967. Ahed's imprisonment is a constant reminder that resistance to occupation is a right and the Palestinian people despite all the challenges remain intent on exercising their right to peacefully resist the illegal occupation that denies them their most basic of rights and steals their land and water.

AHRC-USA believes that the root cause of all the human rights abuses of the Palestinians is the illegal occupation. AHRC-USA advocates for an end to the occupation, the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons and a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital as the solution consistent with international law and human rights.

"Human rights transcend politics," said Imad Hamad, AHRC executive Director. "Regardless of our political preferences and ideological preferences we should all be outraged when human rights, especially those of children, are violated," said Hamad. "The abuse of Palestinian children should shock the conscience of every person who believes in human rights and basic decency," concluded Hamad.