Ramallah, April 23, 2018—A delegation of Canadian lawmakers met with a Palestinian child previously detained by Israeli forces and his lawyer in early April learning firsthand about the widespread and systematic abuse Palestinian child detainees encounter at the hands of Israeli forces.

On April 3, 18 members of a Canadian Parliament delegation met with 16-year-old Fawzi al-Juneidi, a Palestinian boy detained by Israeli forces on December 7, 2017 in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. Fawzi’s detention was caught on video and an image of him bound, blindfolded, bruised and surrounded by around 20 Israeli soldiers went viral on social media. Fawzi shared his experience of detention, interrogation, and prosecution in the Israeli military detention system. The meeting occurred in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah at the Palestine Red Crescent Society headquarters.

Between March 31 and April 6, 2018, 18 members of the Canadian Parliament participated in a parliamentary delegation to Palestine sponsored by the Canada-Palestine Parliamentary Friendship Group. All five parliamentary parties were represented on the delegation.

Fawzi recounted to the group that by the time he arrived to interrogation, one of his shoes had been kicked off and he had been repeatedly beaten and verbally abused for nearly two hours.

“When I arrived at the checkpoint, I remember my face bleeding, mostly my lips because of the beating. They took me to a room, knocked me down to the floor and began kicking me all over my body,” Fawzi told the group of lawmakers.

Representatives of Defense for Children International - Palestine also briefed the group. DCIP lawyer Farah Bayadsi, who defended Fawzi in the Israeli military court system, highlighted the systemic due process denials that are the norm for Palestinian children detained by Israeli forces, including no right to counsel during interrogation.

DCIP lawyer Farah Bayadsi briefs delegation of Canadian lawmakers on April 3, 2018.

Bayadsi told how Fawzi complained of extreme pain in his right shoulder, prompting her to demand a medical check-up on December 25, 2017 that confirmed a fractured shoulder sustained during his arrest.

Late on December 27, Fawzi was released on 10,000 shekels (around US$2,900) bail and a third-party bond in the same amount.

DCIP collected affidavits from 137 West Bank children detained and prosecuted under the jurisdiction of Israeli military courts in 2017. The data shows that 74.5 percent of children endured some form of physical violence following arrest and 62 percent were verbally abused, intimidated, or humiliated.

Here are the 18 members of Parliament that participated in the delegation:

Take Action: Send a thank you note