Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2590 To promote and protect the human rights of Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation and to ensure that United States taxpayer funds are not used by the Government of Israel to support the military deten- tion of Palestinian children, the unlawful seizure, appropriation, and destruction of Palestinian property and forcible transfer of civilians in the West Bank, or further annexation of Palestinian land in violation of international law. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 15, 2021 Ms. MCCOLLUM (for herself, Mr. RUSH, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. CARSON, Ms. NEWMAN, Ms. OMAR, Mr. POCAN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. BUSH, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, and Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To promote and protect the human rights of Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation and to ensure that United States taxpayer funds are not used by the Government of Israel to support the military detention of Palestinian children, the unlawful seizure, appropria- tion, and destruction of Palestinian property and forcible transfer of civilians in the West Bank, or further annex- ation of Palestinian land in violation of international law. VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2590.IH H2590 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2590 IH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Defending the Human 4 Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under 5 Israeli Military Occupation Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds the following: 8 (1) Approximately 3,000,000 Palestinians live 9 in the West Bank, of which around 45 percent are 10 children under the age of 18 who have lived their en- 11 tire lives under Israeli military control. 12 (2) In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, there 13 are two separate and unequal legal systems, with 14 Israeli military law imposed on Palestinians and 15 Israeli civilian law applied to Israeli settlers. 16 (3) Children are entitled to special protections 17 and due process rights under international human 18 rights law and international humanitarian law. 19 (4) Israel has ratified the Convention on the 20 Rights of the Child, which states— 21 (A) in article 37(a), that ‘‘no child shall be 22 subject to torture or other cruel, inhuman or 23 degrading treatment or punishment’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2590.IH H2590 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2590 IH (B) in article 37(b), that the arrest, deten- 1 tion or imprisonment of a child ‘‘shall be used 2 only as a measure of last resort and for the 3 shortest appropriate period of time’’; 4 (C) in article 37(c), that ‘‘every child de- 5 prived of liberty shall be treated with humanity 6 and respect for the inherent dignity of the 7 human person, and in a manner which takes 8 into account the needs of persons of his or her 9 age’’; and 10 (D) in article 37(d), that ‘‘[e]very child de- 11 prived of his or her liberty shall have the right 12 to prompt access to legal and other appropriate 13 assistance, as well as the right to challenge the 14 legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty 15 before a court or other competent, independent 16 and impartial authority, and to a prompt deci- 17 sion on any such action’’. 18 (5) The Government of Israel and its military 19 detains around 500 to 700 Palestinian children be- 20 tween the ages of 12 and 17 each year and pros- 21 ecutes them before a military court system that 22 lacks basic and fundamental guarantees of due proc- 23 ess in violation of international standards. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2590.IH H2590 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2590 IH (6) Israeli security forces detain children under 1 the age of 12 for interrogation for extended periods 2 of time even though the prosecution of children 3 under 12 is prohibited by Israeli military law. 4 (7) Human Rights Watch, in its World Report 5 2020, reported that ‘‘Israel denied Palestinian chil- 6 dren arrested and detained in the West Bank legal 7 protections granted to Israeli children, including set- 8 tlers, such as protections against nighttime arrests 9 and interrogations without a guardian present. 10 Israeli forces frequently used unnecessary force 11 against children during arrest and physically abused 12 them in custody.’’. 13 (8) The Israeli human rights organization 14 HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual 15 issued a report in October 2020 examining night ar- 16 rests of Palestinian children by Israeli forces in the 17 West Bank finding that Israeli authorities continue 18 ‘‘to send soldiers to arrest Palestinian teenage boys 19 at night as a measure of first resort for bringing 20 them in for interrogation. This injurious, traumatic 21 practice leaves the teenagers broken in body and 22 soul, while thwarting the possibility of a fair interro- 23 gation and almost guaranteeing a conviction.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2590.IH H2590 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2590 IH (9) The Israeli human rights organization 1 B’Tselem issued a report in 2018 describing the 2 treatment of Palestinian children under Israeli mili- 3 tary occupation: ‘‘Every year, hundreds of Pales- 4 tinian minors undergo the same scenario. Israeli se- 5 curity forces pick them up on the street or at home 6 in the middle of the night, then handcuff and blind- 7 fold them and transport them to interrogation, often 8 subjecting them to violence en route. Exhausted and 9 scared—some having spent a long time in transit, 10 some having been roused from sleep, some having 11 had nothing to eat or drink for hours—the minors 12 are then interrogated. They are completely alone in 13 there, cut off from the world, without any adult they 14 know and trust by their side, and without having 15 been given a chance to consult with a lawyer before 16 the interrogation. The interrogation itself often in- 17 volves threats, yelling, verbal abuse and sometimes 18 physical violence. Its sole purpose is to get the mi- 19 nors to confess or provide information about oth- 20 ers.’’. 21 (10) The State Department’s 2016 Annual Re- 22 port on Human Rights Practices noted the renewed 23 use of ‘‘administrative detention’’ against Palestin- 24 ians, including children, a practice in which a de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2590.IH H2590 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2590 IH tainee may be imprisoned indefinitely, without 1 charge or trial, by the order of a military com- 2 mander or other government official. 3 (11) The nongovernmental organization De- 4 fense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP) 5 documented 36 Palestinian children detained and 6 placed in administrative detention, or detention 7 without charge or trial, since Israel renewed the 8 practice against minors in October 2015. 9 (12) DCIP collected affidavits from 610 West 10 Bank children who were detained by Israeli forces 11 from the West Bank between 2016 and 2020, and 12 concluded that— 13 (A) 73 percent of the children endured 14 physical violence following arrest; 15 (B) under Israeli military law, children do 16 not have the right to a lawyer during interroga- 17 tion; 18 (C) 97 percent of the children did not have 19 a parent present during their interrogation; 20 (D) 67 percent of the children were not 21 properly informed of their rights by Israeli po- 22 lice; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2590.IH H2590 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2590 IH (E) interrogators used stress positions, 1 threats of violence, and isolation to coerce con- 2 fessions from detained children; and 3 (F) 135 children were held in pre-trial, 4 pre-charge isolation for interrogation purposes 5 for an average period of 15 days. 6 (13) Amendments to Israeli military law con- 7 cerning the detention of Palestinian children have 8 had little or no impact on the treatment of children 9 during the first 24 to 48 hours after an arrest, when 10 the majority of their ill treatment occurs. 11 (14) Israel’s drive to perpetuate its control over 12 the occupied West Bank results in other serious vio- 13 lations of international law, including the unlawful 14 demolition of Palestinian homes and the forcible 15 transfer of Palestinian civilians. 16 (15) The destruction of property in an occupied 17 territory is prohibited under international humani- 18 tarian law, unless absolutely necessary for military 19 operations. 20 (16) The Israeli Committee Against Home 21 Demolitions reports that Israel has demolished more 22 than 48,000 Palestinian structures since 1967, of 23 which 24,000 are estimated to be homes. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2590.IH H2590 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2590 IH (17) Palestinian properties are subject to demo- 1 lition or confiscation as part of Israeli-imposed plan- 2 ning and zoning regimes in Area C and East Jeru- 3 salem and other parts of the West Bank, and sub- 4 ject to punitive demolition following an incident of 5 violence against Israeli military and police forces, 6 settlers, or other civilians. 7 (18) Palestinians are required to obtain Israeli- 8 issued building permits and the lack of permits is 9 typically cited as the reason for demolitions or 10 confiscations, even though, due to the restrictive and 11 discriminatory Israeli planning regime, Palestinians 12 are overwhelmingly denied permits and therefore 13 forced to build without the necessary permits. 14 (19) From 2016 to 2018, 98.6 percent of the 15 1,485 building permit applications that were sub- 16 mitted by Palestinians in Area C were rejected, with 17 only 21 applications approved. 18 (20) Palestinians are allowed to build in less 19 than one percent of Area C and in only about 15 20 percent of East Jerusalem. 21 (21) Palestinian homes and structures located 22 in Area C and East Jerusalem and other parts of 23 the West Bank are under constant threat of demoli- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2590.IH H2590 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2590 IH tion from the moment construction begins and are 1 often demolished with little notice. 2 (22) The United Nations Office for the Coordi- 3 nation for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported 4 in January 2021 that during 2020, Israeli authori- 5 ties demolished or seized 851 structures across the 6 West Bank, including East Jerusalem, displacing 7 1001 Palestinians as a result, including over 524 8 children. This is the highest number of home 9 demolitions since 2016. 10 (23) OCHA noted that one of the major trends 11 observed in 2020 was the increased use of military 12 orders and other legislation, preventing or limiting 13 the ability of Palestinians to legally challenge the 14 targeting of their homes and sources of livelihood in 15 Israeli courts. 16 (24) OCHA reported in February 2021 that 53 17 schools in the West Bank, which are attended by 18 5,200 children, are subject to demolition orders 19 issued by Israeli authorities. 20 (25) Demolitions clearly and deliberately under- 21 mine the prospects for a just and lasting peace be- 22 tween Israel and the Palestinians and create oppres- 23 sive conditions that leave Palestinians with no other 24 choice than to leave their homes and lands. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2590.IH H2590 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2590 IH (26) Punitive demolitions function as an act of 1 collective punishment against the families of sus- 2 pects or perpetrators and create insecurity in the 3 surrounding communities. Though Israeli authorities 4 maintain that punitive demolitions are a means of 5 achieving security, Israel does not demolish the 6 homes of Israelis who have committed crimes 7 against Palestinians as part of its policy. 8 (27) The restrictive and discriminatory Israeli 9 planning regime undermines rights and guarantees 10 in international human rights law and international 11 humanitarian law and facilitates unlawful acts and 12 policies, including destruction of property and forc- 13 ible transfer of civilians, expropriation of land and 14 natural resources, illegal settlement expansion, and 15 further annexation of Palestinian land. 16 (28) Jewish-only settlements established by the 17 Government of Israel in the occupied West Bank, in- 18 cluding East Jerusalem, have no legal validity and 19 constitute a flagrant violation under international 20 law and a major obstacle to the achievement of a 21 just and lasting peace between Israel and the Pal- 22 estinians. 23 (29) Unilateral annexation of any part of the 24 occupied West Bank by the Government of Israel is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:00 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2590.IH H2590 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2590 IH a flagrant violation of international law and a pro- 1 hibited act of aggression under Article 2(4) of the 2 United Nations Charter. 3 (30) Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of 4 United States foreign assistance since World War II, 5 receiving from the United States $146,000,000,000 6 (current, or noninflation-adjusted, dollars) in bilat- 7 eral assistance and military funding. 8 (31) In 2016, the United States and Israeli 9 governments signed a new 10-year Memorandum of 10 Understanding (MOU) on military assistance, cov- 11 ering fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2028. 12 (32) Under the terms of the MOU, the United 13 States pledges to provide $38,000,000,000 in mili- 14 tary assistance ($33,000,000,000 in Foreign Mili- 15 tary Financing grants plus $5,000,000,000 in mis- 16 sile defense appropriations) to Israel, replacing a 17 previous $30,000,000,000, 10-year agreement that 18 ran through fiscal year 2018. 19 (33) The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 20 2021 (Public Law 116–260), provides the following 21 for Israel: 22 (A) $3,300,000,000 in Foreign Military 23 Financing (FMF), including $795,300,000 mil- 24 lion designated specifically for procurements [Text truncated for display. 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