Israel tortures 60 percent of detained Palestinian minors

Sixty percent of Palestinian children detained at Israeli prisons get subjected to physical and psychological torture, Palestinian Society Prisoners Club said Sunday.

In a statement, the nongovernmental organization said minors were being exposed to “physical and psychological torture through several ways, including detention during late hours of the night and by beatings.”

Minors were also being subjected to “threats and confessions were being extracted from them under duress; they are kept for hours without food or drink and are subjected to interrogation for long periods; they also face direct insults and obscene words thrown at them.”

The statement included three testimonies from three children who were being held at the Ofer Prison in the West Bank.

Mustafa al-Badan, 17, Faisal al-Shaer, 16, and Ahmed al-Shalalda, 15, said in their testimonies that they were abused during detention and interrogation at the hands of Israeli officials.

Israel currently imprisons around 6,500 Palestinians, including 350 children.