The bill sets a clear statement of policy declaring, “It is the policy of the United States to promote human rights for Palestinian children living under Israeli military occupation and to declare Israel's system of military detention of Palestinian children as a practice that results in widespread and systematic human rights abuses amounting to gross violations of human rights inconsistent with international humanitarian law and the laws of the United States.”
According to the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz ("Endless Trip to Hell," March 16, 2019): "They’re seized in the dead of night, blindfolded and cuffed, abused and manipulated to confess to crimes they didn't commit. Every year Israel arrests almost 1,000 Palestinian youngsters, some of them not yet 13."
Of course, children under 18 are abused in many places around the world, including in our own criminal justice system as well as in our immigration detention centers. Hopefully, this bill will bring to light the need to protect all children from inhumane treatment during arrest and incarceration.
If you live in New York's 19th Congressional District, please sign the open letter to Rep. Delgado at bit.ly/2z06hHj.