JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Israeli authorities are holding an autistic, disabled Palestinian boy in detention and subjecting him to violence by guards and inmates, local media said on Wednesday.

The daily Haaretz said the 14-year-old boy was detained two weeks ago by the Shin Bet security service and police on suspicion of security offenses, without giving further details.

The boy, who was identified as being on the autism spectrum and fully disabled and a resident of central Israel, was arrested by Israeli forces during a family visit to the occupied West Bank. Authorities have banned publication of his name or the reason for his arrest.

His mother and lawyer, who visited him in detention, said he is facing “violence and brutal conditions.”

Recalling the Israeli raid to arrest her son, the mother said dozens of Israeli soldiers stormed their house before sunrise.

"They entered the children's room and aimed rifles and flashlights at them. My kid shook; he wasn't able to stand on his feet out of fear,” she said.

“They didn't look for anything, just made a mess and took the telephones and computers of the entire family,” she added.

According to Haaretz, the boy appeared four times before the Juvenile Court in Bat Yam in Tel Aviv, where his detention was extended each time.

At the most recent hearing on Oct. 22, Judge Tal Levitas Ben Peretz accepted a police request to extend the boy’s remand by one week.

An appeal by his lawyer, Jgal Dotan, was declined by the judge.

Mistreatment

Saja Misherqi Baransi, a lawyer with the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, said she visited the autistic boy last Monday.

“He was handcuffed, with guards holding his hands above his head and treating him like a security prisoner, despite his small stature,” she said.

The teen, the lawyer said, “was treated in a brutal and humiliating fashion, was beaten by both guards and other prisoners and is being bullied.”

Baransi described his physical and mental state as “poor, and he complains about pain in his throat and head, as well as the cold.”

“He doesn't have a mattress, just a blanket, and he sleeps on the concrete. The food is scarce, and he has no privacy,” she added.

Attorney Dotan said the boy “has communication and orientation challenges.”

“He complained to me about severe violence by guards in the detention facility of the Israel Prison Service and about the inhumane conditions,” he said.

“This violence he described to me is something I'm familiar with from security detainees since October 7, 2023, and it seems that it is due to the fact he is a helpless juvenile,” he added. “According to the definition, he hasn't convinced the center's guards to have mercy on him.

His situation “has worsened since the last extension of his detention, and now he is saying that other detainees are abusing him, and he's also experiencing constant hunger and cold,” Dotan continued.

“It's regrettable that the investigating unit and the prosecution have washed their hands of responsibility for the welfare and safety of the minor,” the lawyer said.

The Israel Prison Service claims that the boy is being held upon a court order and that his rights are fully protected.

According to Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations, Israel currently holds more than 10,000 Palestinian detainees, including children and women, many of whom are subjected to torture, hunger, and medical neglect that has caused the deaths of several prisoners.