2022 was a brutal year for Palestinians under Israeli Apartheid, with more than 150 homes demolished, untold miles of Palestinian land confiscated for Jewish-only settlements, 235 Palestinians killed and 3500 wounded, and over 6300 imprisoned (over 150 of whom were children). Yet Israel’s apartheid regime is about to become more extreme with the addition of militant settlers to the Cabinet, ministers who openly call for the expulsion of Palestinians and annexing the West Bank into Israel. Since the United States and Europe are the primary financial and political supporters of Israel, it is incumbent upon us to say: “ENOUGH! We demand accountability and an end to these illegal practices.”
We demand that international law and human rights be applied as the standard for Israel’s policies toward Palestinians. One place to begin is to demand that Israel end its brutal policy of kidnapping, detaining, and abusing Palestinian children.
The case of 16-year-old Shadi Khoury is representative of what hundreds of Palestinian children endure every year. On October 20th, the Israeli military broke into the Khoury home in East Jerusalem at 5:15 am, beat Shadi, breaking his nose, dragged him bleeding from his head, and threw him into a jeep. He was transferred to a prison and detained without charges. His next days were spent facing interrogation and beatings by military personnel. Neither his parents nor his attorney were allowed to be present in this process. Shadi was not engaged in any illegal activities and the only accusation leveled against him was the bizarre claim that he “conspired to throw stones.”
This Sunday, January 8, 2023, the Israeli Military Court will hold a hearing on Shadi’s case. Please take time immediately to write or call both the Biden administration and the Israeli embassy, as well as do anything in your power, to demand Israeli officials drop all charges and declare him innocent.
In addition:
-Tell Israel to end this illegal practice of detaining and abusing children as it violates international law and your government’s policy.
-Contact Secretary of State Blinken immediately and ask him to intervene with the Netanyahu government and declare Shadi Khoury innocent.
-Finally, urge your congressional colleagues to join Congresswoman Betty McCollum and 30 legislators to sign onto the new legislation calling for Congressional hearings on Israel’s illegal policy of detaining and abusing Palestinian children (the bill HR 2590 will receive a new number for the year 2023).
For additional information, please read:
"Beatings, Humiliation, Fear: Israeli Jail, According to a Palestinian Teen," by Gideon Levy and Alex Levac (Haaretz)