Israel authorities 'seriously beat' two Palestinian teenagers during arrests: report

Israeli authorities seriously beat two Palestinian teenagers after their arrest, according to a report by the Palestinian Authority's commission for citizens imprisoned by Israel on Tuesday.

Hiba Saleh, a lawyer for the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees' Affairs, said 16-year-old Diyar Ivan Salibi was struck with the butt of a firearm, beaten, and kicked during his arrest, according to official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Salibi was taken from his home in Beit Ummar, a town in the occupied West Bank, and held in an Israeli settlement for nine days.

Israeli authorities then transferred him to the Damon prison in northern Israel.

Another Palestinian teenager, 17-year-old Ahmad Ziad Nimr, was seriously assaulted by Israeli police officers during his arrest in occupied East Jerusalem.

Nimr, who is from East Jerusalem's Kufr Aqab neighbourhood, was arrested alongside other young Palestinians close to Lions' Gate – one of the entrances to Jerusalem's Old City.

He was questioned at a West Jerusalem police station for an hour before being held in an interrogation room where there are no cameras.

There, his feet and hands were bound and he was interrogated for two hours and physically attacked by investigators, the report said.

After being brought before a court, Nimr's detention was extended.

He was then placed in the children's area of  Damon Prison, Saleh added.

According to local and international NGOs, Israeli authorities routinely use violence and commit other abuses against Palestinian prisoners.

While a hunger strike may get a Palestinian prisoner in the news and may result in that prisoner receiving better treatment or even release, ultimately these strikes cannot change the system that controls their lives, @Yara_M_Asi writes⬇
#FreeThemAll https://t.co/9hYy1WX4e7

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) September 27, 2022

On Sunday, 30 Palestinians held in administrative detention by Israel began a hunger strike.

They are calling for an end to the Israeli administrative detention policy and looking to draw attention to the 780 Palestinians currently held under this system, Milena Ansari, a spokesperson for prisoner support group Addameer, previously told The New Arab.

Administrative detainees are neither allowed a trial nor charged with any crime and their lawyers are prevented from seeing the evidence against them. Their detention orders can be extended indefinetly by judges.