Insults and threats… A Palestinian child talks about his arrest in Jerusalem policy

Jerusalem – In the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood in the town of Silwan, the incubator of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as in the neighborhoods of Jerusalem, the Israeli occupation shackles Palestinians, old and young, and restricts their movements even when playing games.

The occupation forces arrested the child Muhammad, among his friends, while he was playing football near his house, then transported him in a military vehicle to one of their headquarters in the city.

He was insulted and banned from playing

Muhammad says – to Al Jazeera Net – in words that seemed scattered to someone of his age and situation that a military vehicle suddenly stopped and the soldiers arrested him and stayed for an hour during which he felt tired. The reason is that the ball he was playing with his comrades almost hit an occupation police vehicle.

The child added that an Israeli female soldier was cursing him with obscene words all the time, which he was ashamed to repeat.

Muhammad did not remain in detention for long, as he was released with warnings and threats. “They don’t want me to play,” he added.

Target everything

The occupation authorities practice various forms of restrictions on Jerusalemites, especially children, as they persecute them by arresting, detaining, and direct beatings, depriving them of their most basic rights to play and other things, and using house arrest against them, in addition to settlers’ violations against them, especially in the Old City of Jerusalem, according to Palestinian human rights organizations.

40% of the facilities in the town of Silwan are threatened with demolition or eviction, according to Jerusalemite researcher Fakhri Abu Diab in a previous interview with Al Jazeera Net, as part of a plan to obliterate the Arab and Islamic identity of the area closest to Al-Aqsa Mosque and its protector.

Statistics from institutions concerned with prisoners’ affairs indicate that approximately 9,500 Palestinian prisoners are languishing in Israeli occupation prisons, including 360 children.