Hebron: Video of Seven-Year-Old Being Violently Detained

Video: Seven-Year-Old Violently Detained

8th September: This morning in Hebron a seven-year-old was violently detained.

Watch the video here: Seven year-old child violently detained by Israeli forces

Two adults and a 12-year-old were also arrested.

Before school began, approximately six young children started throwing stones towards the checkpoint. A few minutes later a group of Israeli border police emerged running from a road close to the schools, and more border police ran down from the checkpoint.

Israeli forces threw two stun grenades and fired approximately three tear gas canisters towards the children standing outside their schools.

Two border police officers grabbed 12-year-old Yousef Hajajreh by the neck and walked him to the checkpoint where he was later arrested and driven away in a police car. Two more border police officers forcefully dragged and carried Oday Rajabi, a seven-year-old boy, who was also on his way to school, and detained him for approximately 40 minutes.

A teacher, Abd al-Aziz Hmad Rjob, from the UN school was forced into a headlock as he tried to intervene with the crying seven-year old. He was also dragged up the road where he was arrested.

Palestinians and internationals then gathered at the Salaymeh checkpoint where an 18-year old man, Malak Salaymeh, working at the same school was also arrested as he confronted the soldiers. Another man was also briefly detained.

Palestinian children threw several more stones, and Israeli forces fired three more tear gas canisters.

Yousef, Abd, and Malak were released at noon, roughly three hours after they were arrested.

Shukri Zaroo, a teacher from the al-Khalil primary school for boys, stated to the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) that, "The school is going through a very difficult period right now as the children are having problems comprehending the material. Their understanding is affected due to their emotional state and the stress due to the daily attacks by the occupation forces, which are continuously escalating. There are also a percentage of children who are late for school, who run away from school, and some who avoid school altogether, because coming to school is such a stressful and frightening experience for them."

Israeli forces have previously targeted extremely young children as they wait for school in al-Khalil; the ISM has documented a number of these incidents while monitoring Salaymeh checkpoint as children pass through to go to school. These include arrests, detentions, and the firing of tear gas canisters and stun grenades.

ENDS

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