Palestinian teenage detainee hospitalised with broken jaw after beating in Israeli prison

Mohammad Muqbel, 16, required jaw surgery after he was beaten in an Israeli prison.

3 min read

04 December, 2020

Mohammad Muqbel remains in Israeli detention [Twitter]

A Palestinian teenager underwent surgery on Thursday after being beaten at the hands of Israeli prison officials last week.

Mohammad Muqbel, 16, was beaten severely on Saturday after he was detained on his way to school, according to his father Munir.

Muqbel, from the al-Arroub refugee camp in Hebron, had platinum implanted in his left lower jawbone after his jaw was broken after he was forcibly taken away from his home with no charge or trial.

An Israeli military court extended Muqbel's detention until Sunday, December 6, despite being severely hurt. He is currently being treated in an Israeli hospital and handcuffed to his bed. His father says he is in excruciating pain and is being denied contact with his son.

Occupying Israeli forces violently raid Palestinian homes across the West Bank on an almost daily bases.

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Under Israel’s military law, army commanders have full executive, legislative and judicial authority over the three million Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank.

Traumatising invasions

A joint report released by Israeli human rights groups condemned the Israeli military's invasions of Palestinian homes, suggesting the practice is in violation of international law.

The report, released in November, is based on two years of research carried out by Yesh Din, Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) and Breaking the Silence. It includes extensive documentation and testimonies of soldiers and evicted families.

In addition to documenting accounts of military home invasions, the three organisation collected testimonies to highlight the impact. According to the report, the home invasions – often carried out in the middle of the night – result in "severe harm".

The raids leave Palestinian adults and children feeling vulnerable and unsafe in their own homes, the report concludes.

Israel has occupied the West Bank illegally since 1967, and commits various abuses against Palestinian civilians, human rights groups say.

More than 600,000 Israeli Jews live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in constructions considered illegal under international law.

The Oslo agreement of 1995 divided the occupied West Bank into three: Area A, Area B and Area C.

Area A is under the administrative and security control of the Palestinian Authority (PA). Area B's administration is controlled by the PA, with Israel controlling security. Area C is under full administrative and security control of Israel.

Attacks by Israeli settlers on the local Palestinian population in the West Bank are common, added to the stifling conditions of the occupation.

On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Palestine is facing "grim realities" under the occupation as the possibility of a negotiated peace settlement with Israel remains elusive.

"I address you today with a deep sense of worry about the grim realities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the diminishing prospects of resolving the conflict, which has been with the United Nations since its very creation," Guterres said in an online meeting to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

The UN chief stressed that conditions for Palestinians have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, while the expansion of Israeli settlements has continued unabated.

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