New York, Sep. 23 (Petra)-- Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah condemned Israel’s military detention of Palestinian children on Tuesday, highlighting the "harrowing conditions" child detainees experience in Israeli incarceration.

"Children tell of a grim, familiar pattern," Queen Rania said. "Ripped from their homes in the middle of the night, not knowing where or why they are being taken Hauled before military courts Assaulted and threatened with rape Kept underfed, isolated, and afraid." "This routine cruelty isn’t the work of a few abusers," she emphasized. "It is the product of a political, legal, and security apparatus that normalizes violence against children – as long as those children are from Palestine. And I just don’t understand; what is so terrifying about Palestinian children?" Her Majesty made her remarks while participating in a high-level dialogue on Palestinian children in Israeli military detention, titled ‘Childhood in Custody.’ Held at the United Nations headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the event was convened by Save the Children and co-sponsored by the governments of Jordan, Ireland, the State of Palestine, Spain, and South Africa.

In her keynote address, the Queen noted that for decades, Israel has arbitrarily taken Palestinian children into custody, denied them due process, and held them indefinitely in a "notoriously brutal" prison system.

"Most parents can barely allow themselves to imagine it: their 12-year-old taken at gunpoint, driven away somewhere they cannot follow," she said. "It’s inconceivable. Yet, it happens to Palestinian families all the time." The Queen relayed the findings of a recent UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which confirmed the torture of Palestinian children in Israeli custody. She also cited a 2025 Save the Children survey of former Palestinian child detainees, where two-thirds reported being held in solitary confinement, for as many as 45 days.

"Picture a child, trapped in a cell, terrified and alone, for 45 minutes. Crying, apologizing, banging on the walls, calling for their parents," Her Majesty said. "But 45 days? What would that even look like?" She explained how even before coming of age, Palestinians are cast as demographic threats and security threats, "presumed guilty of future crimes they haven’t committed." "Their innocence stripped away, they are dehumanized so thoroughly that even a kid with roller skates, a soccer ball, or a kite can be seen as something menacing," Her Majesty said. "And a child can be branded a terrorist, as if they were never a child at all." She went on to recall the case of Walid Ahmad, a Palestinian teenager who died in March 2025 after six months in Israeli custody. Despite an autopsy showing he had been starved, an Israeli judge closed the investigation into his death.

"A year and a half later, Israel still holds his body – a prisoner even in his death," Her Majesty said.

In addition to Queen Rania, the ‘Childhood in Custody’ high-level dialogue featured remarks from Irish Prime Minister, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the UN, Riyad Mansour. It also included the testimony of a formerly detained Palestinian child, who described the lasting detrimental effect of his incarceration.

In his remarks, the Irish Prime Minister called the conditions reported by Palestinian child detainees "deeply shocking," noting they describe experiences no child should ever endure.

"The military detention of children cannot be justified," said Martin. "Ireland, together with international partners, continues to call for Israel to fully comply with international law, and for independent monitoring and accountability, and the protection of all children affected by conflict – of their rights, safety, and dignity at all times." "There is no equivalent in the world to the systematic targeting Palestinian children experience, including through mass arbitrary arrest and abuse," Palestinian Ambassador Mansour said. "We want our children to sleep in peace without fear, and we want those who harm them to stay awake, knowing they cannot evade justice. Those who accuse us of not loving our children are liars; we love our children like all people love their children." During the event, Save the Children International CEO Inger Ashing shared the findings of her organization’s policy brief, "Tortured: The Escalating Abuse of Palestinian Children in Israeli Military Detention," where 99% of surveyed former child detainees reported being assaulted, 82% being forcibly stripped, and more than half witnessing or experiencing sexual violence. More than 70% of children surveyed also said they felt sad most or all of the time, with 45% not returning to school after their release.

The high-level dialogue brought together representatives of governments, the UN, and humanitarian and human rights organizations to examine both the immediate protection needs of detained Palestinian children and the broader international response.

Discussions focused on steps governments can take to end violations against children and ensure that international law is upheld, calling for an end to the detention of Palestinian children within the Israeli military detention system and the release of all children currently in custody.

//Petra//