Oz: Israel’s Prison for Palestinian Children
- Oz: Israel’s Prison for Palestinian Children
by Ylenia Gostoli, http://www.aljazeera.com/
Over 100 children have been subject to arbitrary detention by Israel in October across the West Bank, rights groups say.
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East Jerusalem – Since the beginning of October, hundreds of young men from Jerusalem have spent the night in Oz – not the magical fairy-tale land, but a police station in Jabal al-Mukaber.
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Like the rest of occupied East Jerusalem, the neighbourhood is mired in neglect and has become a scene of regular clashes between Palestinian youth and Israeli security forces. Those who come to Oz arrive in military vehicles, handcuffed and blindfolded.
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According to prisoner support group Addameer, at least 876 Palestinians, including 133 children, have been arrested since October 1 across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Israel. According to figures collected by the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Silwan, at least 60 children were arrested in Jerusalem during the first two weeks of unrest.
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Zamzam S, an 11-year-old from the neighbourhood of al-Thori, says he was arrested along with his brother, Khalil, and two of his friends last week while they were playing football in the street; they were all subsequently taken to Oz.
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“This unit opened a month ago, specifically for children and young people throwing stones,” Amjad Abu Asab, head of the East Jerusalem committee of prisoners’ families, told Al Jazeera. According to accounts from parents and human rights groups, detainees typically spend one night here for interrogation. Longer interrogations take place at the al-Mascobiya interrogation centre in West Jerusalem.
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“When we arrived at the police station, there were people with civilian clothes drinking coffee and many civilian cars. So, in the beginning, we thought we were in a public place,” said 14-year-old Khalil. “Behind the parking lot, there were six or seven containers, and that’s where they take you for interrogation. There is a very dim, blue light, so you can’t see the interrogator properly, and this puts you in a stress mode; you can’t see the person who is hitting you.”
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