Detention without charge of Palestinian children hits record level

The Sahweil family are still in a state of shock months after their home was raided by Israeli troops.

In August, they found themselves surrounded by military vehicles. Dozens of soldiers invaded the home, demanding to see Ammar Sahweil, who is only 14.

Once they found Ammar, the Israeli soldiers handcuffed and blindfolded him, informing him that he was under arrest. The soldiers also beat Ammar before his parents and siblings.

“We never expected all this intrusion,” Subhi Sahweil – Ammar’s father – said.

The Israelis took Ammar away from the family’s home in the occupied West Bank village of Abwein.

One week later, the family learned that Ammar had been placed in administrative detention – imprisonment without charge or trial. He remains imprisoned.

All files against people subject to administrative detention are kept secret. Lawyers representing detainees are, therefore, unable to see those files.

The number of children held in administrative detention rose from six in early 2023 to 85 in September 2024. Data compiled by Defence for Children International-Palestine show that Israel’s use of administrative detention against minors reached a record level over recent months.