Video: Soldier and settler terror in Hebron

Defense for Children International –  30 April 2010

Today, DCI-Palestine is launching a short film which tells the story of Jameel, a 16-year-old boy from Tel Rumeida, Hebron. On 13 July 2009, Jameel was detained and beaten by soldiers near his home for no apparent reason, tied and blindfolded at a checkpoint nearby and allowed to be beaten by settlers and soldiers as well as have stones thrown at him, while his parents watched on nearby but were prevented from helping him.

Over the past two years, DCI-Palestine has documented 40 such incidents, in which Palestinian children were shot or physically assaulted, in an unprovoked manner, by settlers or soldiers. None of the victims who filed complaints with the Israeli authorities received notice of whether or not the complaint was followed up. This demonstrates the overall culture of impunity prevalent inside Israel with regards to crimes against Palestinian civilians. According to data released by Israeli human rights organisation, Yesh Din, in 2008 and 2010, respectively, just 8% of investigations into incidents against Palestinian civilians by Israeli settlers led to an indictment, whereas only an aggregate average of 6% of all investigations conducted in 2000-2009 with regard to incidents against Palestinian civilians by Israeli soldiers or security forces led to an indictment. DCI-Palestine will soon be releasing a report featuring stories of children directly injured or killed during the above-mentioned incidents of settler or soldier violence documented by DCI-Palestine from March 2008-February 2010.