Ramallah: 'Israeli forces' have arrested more than 2000 Palestinian children across the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem since October 2023, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said on October 14, warning that children continue to face abuse throughout arrest, interrogation and imprisonment.

The organisation said at least 350 children remain detained. The cumulative figure does not establish the full scale of child detention in Gaza, where documentation remains incomplete.

The latest statement followed the reported overnight arrest of at least six children, mainly in Sa’ir and Ash Shuyukh in the Hebron governorate.

The society said detained children face intimidation, torture, food deprivation, isolation and denial of medical treatment. It warned that imprisonment separates them from family care and education, while administrative detention leaves some held without charge or trial and facing repeated extensions.

Concerns about conditions have also been raised by UNICEF. In an August briefing to the UN Security Council, the agency cited 'Israel' Prison Service figures showing 355 Palestinian children in military detention, including 164 held administratively without charge or trial.

UNICEF reported accounts of violence, degrading treatment, inadequate nutrition and hygiene, severe weight loss and scabies among detained children. It called for an end to their administrative detention. Those figures describe an earlier reporting period, rather than an additional group of children.

International child rights standards require detention to be lawful, used only as a last resort and maintained for the shortest appropriate period. Children must also have prompt access to legal assistance and be able to challenge their detention.

The prisoners’ society called for the release of arbitrarily detained children, independent investigations into alleged violations, and access for families, lawyers and monitoring bodies.