On the eve of Palestinian Children’s Day, the European Union Representative and the EU Heads of Mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah issue the following statement:

“On 21 March 2018 the Israeli military court at Ofer accepted a plea bargain in the case of Ahed Tamimi. The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah express their deep concern regarding the circumstances of her arrest, the duration and the conditions of the detention and how the proceedings were conducted in her specific case as well as in other similar cases processed in the military court system.

Recent months have seen a high number of minors detained during demonstrations in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. The European Union is concerned over the circumstances and procedures applied during arrest, interrogation and detention of minors, including administrative detention. Israel has obligations under international law to respect the rights of the child, which inter alia confirm that the arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate time.

Moreover, several Palestinian minors have been killed by Israeli Forces using lethal force. The EU continues to be deeply alarmed about the use of live ammunition by Israeli Security Forces as means of crowd control. The EU reiterates its calls on Israeli authorities to employ proportionate force in their response to demonstrations, to exercise the utmost restraint in its use of force for law enforcement, to open adequate investigations following each fatality and to initiate prosecution where appropriate.”

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Press Release

The Office of the European Union Representative (West Bank and Gaza Strip, UNRWA)