Since Trump’s Declaration on Jerusalem on 6 December 2017, the Israeli occupation forces unlawfully killed 15 Palestinians, injured thousands and detained 585. In fact, out of those different arrests which happen either during protests, at checkpoints or through house raids, there are 184 children detainees and 11 women. The Israeli occupation forces continue with this mass arrest and harassment campaign as part of their collective punishment systematic policy against Palestinians.

Israeli occupation forces in the past few weeks used excessive force against Palestinians, collectively punishing Palestinians for practicing their right to peaceful assembly and participating in protests. In fact, Israeli occupation forces are targeting all Palestinians including vulnerable groups; children, women, elders and disabled people. Additionally, the use of extra force is systematic during protests and arrests, documentation shows that most of those who have participated in protests got injured and many of them got arrested. Also, Israeli occupation forces grossly violated and assaulted detainees during arrest through brutally beating them and causing physical and physiological harm.

The number of Palestinian detainees is in continuous increase and the Israeli arrest and harassment campaign is ongoing as a systematic mean to collectively punish Palestinians. In fact, Israeli occupation forces detained 23 Palestinians this morning, eight out of them are from A’yda refugee camp in Bethlehem and ten are from Jerusalem. In addition to this, since 22 December 2017 until the morning of today, 26 December 2017, Israeli occupation forces detained 85 Palestinians including 11 children, two journalists, and one woman. Among those detained yesterday 25 December 2017, eight were from one village in Nablus, called Qussra, including 14-year-old Yousef Hassan and 16-year-old E’hab Darwish. Israeli occupation forces systematically target this specific village through using extra force against its residents and detaining high numbers of them, only on 7 December 2017 they detained 22 Palestinians from Qussra.

As for al-Tamimi family, the 17-year-old A’hed al-Tamimi is still facing an intense campaign against her, which is not limited to her getting arrested last week 19 December 2017, but also consist of an intense Israeli media campaign that is demanding her immediate prosecution and detention. A’hed, her mother Narmeen al Tamimi and Nour al-Tamimi had court hearings yesterday and their detention got extended for another four days of interrogations.

This extra use of force against Palestinians and the mass arrest campaigns are part of Israeli’s collective punishment measures that are in direct violation of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Article 50 of the Hague Regulations which specifically prohibits collective punishment. In point of fact, there is an Israeli policy of targeting vulnerable groups, whether children, women, disabled people or medics. Also, a systematic policy of inhuman treatment and cause of harm to Palestinians during protests and also during arrests. These systematic Israeli policies go further than collective punishment, this is an attempt to expand Israel’s control and domination over Palestinians and deny them the right to self-determination.     

As such, Addameer calls on the immediate release of all prisoner. In addition, we call on third state parties to immediately pressure the Israeli occupation authorities to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Also, to stop this systematic policy of targeting vulnerable groups including children, women, disabled people and medics and allow Palestinians to practice their right to peaceful assembly and give them their right to self-determination.