{"id":3680,"date":"2015-02-05T10:48:20","date_gmt":"2015-02-05T10:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=3680"},"modified":"2015-02-05T10:49:57","modified_gmt":"2015-02-05T10:49:57","slug":"teen-girl-jailed-for-stone-throwing-becomes-palestinian-symbol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/teen-girl-jailed-for-stone-throwing-becomes-palestinian-symbol\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel jails Palestinian girl for throwing stones"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Malak\"<\/a>A 14-year-old schoolgirl jailed for trying to attack Israeli soldiers has become a symbol of Palestinian anger over the arrests of children in the West Bank.
\nThe two-month sentence for Malak al-Khatib, who was accused of stone-throwing and possession of a knife, has unleashed a wave of solidarity and support among Palestinians.
\n\u201cMy heart broke when I saw her in court, cuffed and shackled,\u201d her mother Khawla al-Khatib told AFP from her home in the town of Beitin near Ramallah.
\n\u201cI brought in a coat for her to wear because it was cold, but the judge refused to let her have it,\u201d the distressed 50-year-old said.
\nIsraeli forces arrest about 1,000 children every year in the West Bank, often on charges of stone-throwing, according to rights group Defense for Children International Palestine.
\nBut the case of Malak has brought countless media organizations flocking to her family\u2019s door and attracted more public attention than most. The difference \u2014 she is a girl.
\nThe Palestinian Prisoners\u2019 Club estimates that 200 Palestinian minors are held in Israeli prisons, but only four are girls, and Malak is the youngest.
\nAmani Sarahna, spokeswoman for the Ramallah-based organization, said it was the first time in years that four female minors were held in Israeli jails, out of the 6,500 Palestinians incarcerated.
\nFollowing Malak\u2019s arrest, the Palestinian leadership sent a letter to the United Nations denouncing the Israeli practice of \u201cseizing children in the dead of night,\u201d detaining Palestinian children \u201cfor extended periods of time\u201d and subjecting them to \u201cpsychological and physical torture.\u201d
\nA picture of Malak\u2019s face framed in black hair, her dark eyes staring squarely into the camera, has been circulating in social media and Palestinian newspapers.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know why a state like Israel, with the most powerful weapons at its disposal, is pursuing my 14-year-old daughter,\u201d Malak\u2019s father Ali al-Khatib said.
\n\u201cThey accused her of trying to stab a soldier. Really? A child against an armed and heavily equipped solider, a grown man?\u201d he asked.
\nThe father-of-eight said his daughter was arrested on her way home from school in Beitin on December 31.
\nAccording to the indictment served at a military court, Malak had \u201cpicked up a stone\u201d to throw at cars on route 60, which is near the village and serves Israeli settlers as well as Palestinians.
\nThe indictment, citing five Israeli officials, said Malak was in possession of a knife which she intended to use to stab security personnel in the case of her arrest. As well as the jail term she was fined $1,500.
\nAn Israeli military spokeswoman told AFP that Malak was convicted after a plea bargain.
\n\u201cRock throwing is an extremely dangerous crime, which has maimed and killed Israeli civilians in the past,\u201d she said.
\nAfter three weeks in custody Malak was brought before an Israeli military court and sentenced to prison.
\n\u201cEvery year, between 500 and 700 Palestinian children are tried before Israeli military courts,\u201d said DCI Palestine\u2019s Ayed Abu Qteish.
\nQteish said Israeli military law allows the prosecution of children from as young as 12, which UN children\u2019s agency UNICEF says is unique to the Jewish state.
\nMalak\u2019s father thinks his daughter\u2019s confession counts for little.
\n\u201cA 14-year-old girl surrounded by Israeli soldiers will admit to anything,\u201d he said bitterly.
\n\u201cShe would admit to holding a nuclear weapon if she were accused.\u201d<\/p>\n

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