On Friday, 19 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives urged Secretary of State John Kerry to defend the human rights of Palestinian children living under Israeli occupation.
Led by U.S. Representative Betty McCollum, the 19 Members of Congress signed a letter to the U.S. State Department that focuses on the thousands of Palestinian children who have been detained, interrogated, prosecuted, and/or imprisoned within the Israeli military justice system.
Here’s who signed:
Rep Betty McCollum
Rep John Conyers
Rep Keith Ellison
Rep Barbara Lee
Rep Danny K. Davis
Rep Raúl M. Grijalva
Rep André Carson
Rep Anna G. Eshoo
Rep Peter DeFazio
Rep Earl Blumenauer
Rep Jim McDermott
Rep Chellie Pingree
Rep Bobby L. Rush
Rep James P. McGovern
Rep Maxine Waters
Rep Henry C. “Hank” Johnson
Rep Donald S. Beyer, Jr.
Rep Eleanor Holmes Norton
Rep Eddie Bernice Johnson
Is your Member of Congress NOT on the list?
Call them and voice your concern: (202) 224-3121
According to UNICEF (PDF), since 2003, more than 7,000 Palestinian children living in the occupied West Bank have been detained, interrogated, prosecuted, and/or imprisoned within the Israeli military justice system. The UN has separately reported that Israeli forces have been responsible for injuring more than 1,500 Palestinian children there in the span of three years.
While Palestinian children and adults face Israeli military courts, Israeli settlers benefit from Israeli civil law. Israel gives settlers a different system of justice — even though they are living illegally in the very same occupied Palestinian territories.
In the words of the 19 Members of Congress:
“Secretary Kerry, we urge the Department of State to elevate the human rights of Palestinian children to a priority status in our bilateral relationship with the Government of Israel. Furthermore, we fully expect the State Department to address the status of Israel’s military detention system’s treatment of Palestinian children in its annual human rights report.”