For Immediate Release - July 30, 2002

ISRAELI ARMY BLINDFOLDS AND DETAINS CHILDREN

[Ramallah] This afternoon Israeli soldiers outside Al-Amaari refugee camp detained three boys aged between 10 and 13. The boys were handcuffed and blindfolded and taken into a house already occupied by the IDF.

Internationals, including US citizens, are on the scene with the boys' mothers, but their pleas for information on the children's welfare have as yet been denied. No reason has been given for the boys' detention.

Video footage of the incident is available from Adam Shapiro on the phone numbers below.

Adam and Huwaida: +972(0)52-642-709 or
+972(0)67-473-308
ISM office: +972-(0)2-626-4844
www.palsolidarity.org

Notes for editors: These actions contravene the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Geneva Convention, which forbid the arbitrary detention of children and their use as instruments of war.