Lebanese demand release of jailed Palestinian teenager

Dozens of Lebanese on Tuesday held a demonstration outside the Beirut office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to demand the release of a Palestinian teenager detained last week by the Israeli authorities.

Last Tuesday, Israeli forces arrested 17-year-old Ahed al-Tamimi in an overnight raid carried out in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Mohamed Safa, head of the Khiam Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture, a Beirut-based NGO, said the Israeli authorities had detained 350 Palestinians -- including 48 minors -- since U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital early this month.

According to Safa, the arrest -- and frequent abuse -- of children under 18 “not only violates the rights of the child, but is tantamount to a crime against humanity”.

Israel, Safa asserted, is “carrying out a policy of collective punishment against the Palestinian people”.

He went on to urge the ICRC to condemn Israel’s policy of detaining minors and demand the release of all detained Palestinian children, including al-Tamimi.

On Dec. 6, the U.S. president recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, sparking angry protests -- and numerous clashes -- across the Palestinian territories.

In the three weeks since, at least 15 Palestinians have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- in clashes with Israeli security forces in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip.