Israel adamant on holding 11-year-old in jail

PIC reported:

The Israeli Magistrate Court refused on Tuesday to release the Palestinian youngest prisoner in Israeli jails.

The Magistrate's Court ruled that the 11-year-old Ali Alqam from the Shuafat refugee camp will be sent to a Ministry of Welfare supervised residence for approximately one year, Yediot Ahranot Hebrew newspaper said.

The court censored the majority of the ruling's details because the defendant has not reached the legal age of criminal responsibility, 12, the newspaper said.

“According to the law, Israeli authorities cannot arrest or interrogate the 11-year-old boy under caution. This is the first time legal authorities have come across such a young detainee, thus they find themselves in a legal dilemma.”

After concluding his physical rehabilitation treatment at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center, the young detainee was sent to a Ministry of Welfare supervised residence, where he can leave for short vacations and his parents can visit him, the newspaper said.