Written question asked by Baroness Tonge (Independent Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 7 December 2015, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 21 December 2015. It was answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative) on Wednesday, 16 December 2015 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Israel: Palestinians

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 17 November (HL3625), what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding the identification of the ages of Palestinian children prior to their arrest and detention.

Answer: Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised this issue with the Israeli Ministry of Justice (MoJ) when they met on 3 November and were informed that a small number of children under 12 had been detained. The Israeli MoJ stated that once their age was established, the minors were released. They also told officials that if identification was not available, parents of the individuals were contacted via the Palestinian District Coordination Office. Since the publication of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office-funded independent report on Children in Military Custody in June 2012, there has been some progress on the issue of children held in military detention in Israel. This includes a pilot to use summons instead of night-time arrests, changes to standard operating procedures on methods of restraint, and steps to reduce the amount of time a child can be detained before seeing a judge. While we welcome improvements, we continue to push for the full implementation of changes and to encourage further changes in practice.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: HL4290
Session: 2015-16
Related items: Jerusalem: Palestinians
Monday, 30 November 2015
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Children Detainees Arrests Israel Palestine
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk