I am just outside Bethlehem in the West Bank, sitting on the terrace of a restaurant, overlooking the rolling Palestinian hills. I am here with Jamie Eyre (CEO of Embrace the Middle East) and the director of one of the Christian organisations we partner with and support.
We are eating a delicious lunch of Middle Eastern dishes, the sun shines and a gentle breeze keeps us cool. It feels idyllic, but the issue we are talking about is not, and as we sit looking out we cannot ignore the sight of Israeli settlements on the other side of the hillside or the large new developments we can see being built.
I ask the director about the detention of Palestinian children in the West Bank. I expect him to tell me about some of the children they provide trauma counselling to in the organisation, but instead he tells me about his own shocking experience. As I talk to others over the next few days I realise everyone has their own story to tell – of what has happened to themselves or to a family member or a friend, and I realise this is ubiquitous.
Sitting in that nice restaurant, he says to me, ‘They didn’t imprison me, they imprisoned my childhood’, and I begin to consider what impact it must have on a whole society for so many people to live with that level of trauma.
I think about 14-year-old Amir. The day he was arrested started out like any other. He was with a friend at the local playground, next to the football pitch where they both loved to kick a ball around.
Suddenly, Israeli soldiers surrounded the two boys, handcuffed them and pushed them into a waiting military vehicle. Amir recalls being slapped and beaten, with no idea where he was being taken or what was going to happen next.
Amir’s story is not unusual. Palestinian children in the West Bank grow up in the context of Israeli military occupation and law. Like adults, they face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment under the system of Israeli military detention. Unlike civilian detention, which protects prisoners’ civil and political rights, this system denies them basic rights such as knowing what they are being charged for, food and healthcare.
Since the Israel-Hamas war began on 7 October 2023, media attention has been rightly focused on Gaza and the spiraling humanitarian catastrophe there. Yet there is also a humanitarian emergency in the West Bank. Since 7 October, settler violence, demolitions, displacement and arrests have escalated sharply. The impact on children is devastating.
Israel has been arresting and detaining Palestinian children (defined as anyone below the age of 18) in the West Bank, like Amir and like my friend in the restaurant, since it began its occupation in 1967. The situation has intensified since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. Before the attack, around 170 Palestinian children were being held in detention but since then, over 1,300 children have been detained and, as of April 2025, there are at least 400 children in detention.
The main reason that children are arrested is alleged stone throwing, which can carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Children can be arrested if there is any suspicion they have been involved in stone throwing, without requiring evidence.
Palestinian children are often arrested at night, without a warrant or explanation. Many children experience aggressive and frightening tactics during arrest and detainment, including being blindfolded, beaten or tied with single plastic ties, and being held in solitary confinement.
Child detainees are often transferred from the West Bank to detention centres in Israel. This makes it extremely difficult for families to visit their child because Palestinians in the West Bank need Israeli-issued permits to enter Israel, which are difficult – if not impossible – to obtain.
In many cases families are not informed of their child’s place of detention. Most child detainees do not have a parent or family member present when questioned. Research has also shown that many children are denied access to a lawyer prior to interrogation. This is particularly concerning given that many child detainees are pressured to sign documents – sometimes confessions – in Hebrew, a language that most Palestinian children do not understand. All of these practices directly contravene international law.
The longer-term impacts of child military detention are devastating, often leading to prolonged emotional distress, behavioural problems and falling behind or even dropping out of education. For Amir, after one week at an Israeli interrogation centre and two weeks of house arrest, he remained anxious and fearful – especially as his file has remained open, meaning he could face arrest again.
Family relationships often become strained post-detainment, while the impact on broader Palestinian society is destructive: the culture of fear and repression created by the Israeli occupation and child military detention must not be underestimated.
Amir has not been left without hope, though. Through counselling and guidance provided by our Embrace partner, he is regaining a sense of trust, purpose and emotional stability. The fear is still there and some nights are harder than others – but this support has made an enormous difference to him.
Please do not read this and feel helpless: there is something you can do today.
Embrace has launched a new campaign, ‘Childhood Behind Bars’, calling on the UK government to put pressure on Israel to end military child detention in the West Bank, and also address the root cause of it – the occupation.
Our local partners in the West Bank work directly with child ex-detainees and witness first-hand the detrimental impact of child detention on the children, their families and wider society. The UK government must put pressure on Israel to stop the systematic detention of Palestinian children.
Together, we can take action to put an end to these practices.
We would love you to stand with us against the arbitrary detention of Palestinian children. Embrace are calling on Christians in the UK to write to their MPs and call on them to pressure the UK Government to:
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Urge Israel to end the practice of night arrests and the use of inhumane tactics against Palestinian children
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Call on Israel to immediately stop the unlawful transfer of Palestinian child detainees from the occupied West Bank to detention facilities inside Israel
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Enact legislation that bans trade with and investment in Israeli settlements in the West Bank
We have created an easy-to-use form at: embraceme.org/childhood-behind-bars where you can take action in just a few minutes. So far over 500 Christians have sent emails to their MPs using it.
Please also pray for children like Amir and their families, and pray for the UK Government to take action against arbitrary child detention.
At Embrace the Middle East we believe no child should be arbitrarily detained and treated inhumanely.
Let’s stand together in support of Palestinian children and the Christians who are doing all they can to help those traumatised as a result.
Dr Ruth Valerio is Programmes, Partnerships & Advocacy Director at Embrace the Middle East.
