Israel has released at least 23 Palestinian child prisoners as part of the ceasefire, shining a spotlight on Israel’s systematic prosecution of Palestinian children in military courts.

At least 290 Palestinian prisoners have been released in two batches since the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel took effect on January 19, ending 15 months of non-stop Israeli bombing of Gaza.

Before the latest prisoner exchange, 320 children were held in Israeli prisons, according to the Adamir Prisoners Support and Human Rights Association, a human rights group based in the occupied West Bank.

So, what do we know about Palestinian child prisoners? Why were they tried in military courts?

What do we know about Palestinian child prisoners in Israel?

In 2016, Israel introduced a new law that allows children aged 12 to 14 to be held criminally responsible, meaning they can be tried in court and sentenced to prison terms like adults. Previously, only people aged 14 or over could be sentenced to prison. However, the sentence cannot begin until the child reaches the age of 14 (PDF).

The new law, passed by the Knesset on August 2, 2016, enables Israeli authorities to “imprison a minor who commits serious crimes such as murder, attempted murder or manslaughter, even if he or she is under the age of 14,” according to the Parliamentary statement when the law was introduced.

This change was made after Ahmed Manasra He was arrested in occupied East Jerusalem in 2015 at the age of 13. After the new law came into effect, and specifically after his 14th birthday, he was charged with attempted murder and sentenced to 12 years in prison. His sentence was later reduced to nine years on appeal.

According to the NGO Save the Children, an estimated 10,000 Palestinian children have been held in Israeli military detention centers over the past 20 years.

Children are arrested for reasons ranging from throwing rocks to attending gatherings of only 10 people without permission to discuss any issue that “could be considered political”.

Under what laws does Israel detain children?

Controversially, Palestinian prisoners are tried and sentenced in military courts rather than civilian courts.

International law allows Israel to use military courts in the territories it occupies.

A dual legal system exists in Palestine, with Israeli settlers living in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem governed by Israeli civil law, while Palestinians are governed by Israeli military law in courts run by Israeli soldiers and officers.

This means that large numbers of Palestinians are imprisoned without basic due process.

“Yet Israeli authorities routinely arrest Palestinian children in nighttime raids, interrogate them without the presence of a guardian, hold them for longer periods of time before bringing them before a judge, and subject children as young as 12 to lengthy pre-trials detention,” said Israeli official Omar Shakir. Human Rights Watch Palestine Director wrote in November 2023.

According to a 2017 report by the Israel Civil Rights Association, nearly three-quarters of Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank are detained until proceedings are concluded, compared with less than 20 percent of Israeli children.

HaMoked, a human rights NGO that helps Palestinians who suffer human rights abuses under Israeli occupation, said minors held in prisons will be able to have 10-minute phone calls with their families every two weeks during 2020.

How many of the Palestinian prisoners released so far as part of the Israeli-Hamas deal are children?

As part of the ceasefire, Israel on Saturday released 200 Palestinian prisoners from prisons, 120 of whom were serving life sentences.

Two of them were children, both 15 years old. The oldest prisoner, Muhammad al-Tous, is 69. He was first arrested in 1985 while fighting Israeli forces and has spent 39 years in prison.

Saturday’s exchange was the second since the ceasefire came into effect on January 19. In the first exchange, three Israeli captives and 90 Palestinian prisoners (69 women and 21 children) were released.

On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian organization led by Hamas launched an attack in southern Israel, and only 8 out of 90 prisoners were arrested. The attacks killed more than 1,100 people, captured about 250, and triggered Israel’s devastating war in Gaza.

Some Palestinian prisoners have been held in Israeli prisons for more than three decades.

Prominent Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, co-founder of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, also known as Fatah, the political party that governs the West Bank, has been in prison for 22 years.

Tamer Qarmout, an associate professor at Doha Graduate School, told Al Jazeera that the release of Palestinian prisoners was a “huge relief” for families, although it occurred “against the horrific reality of the (Israeli) occupation” .

Kamut told Al Jazeera: “These prisoners should have been released through a larger deal that ended the conflict, brought peace through negotiations, ended the occupation, but the harsh reality in Palestine is that as we speak, the occupation continues continue.”

How many Palestinians are in Israeli prisons? Were they ill-treated in detention?

Adamel estimated that as of Sunday, some 10,400 Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank were imprisoned by Israel.

One in five Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has been arrested and charged. The rate was twice as high among Palestinian men as among women – two out of five men were arrested and charged.

There are 19 prisons in Israel and one prison in the occupied West Bank housing Palestinian prisoners. Israel stopped allowing independent humanitarian groups to visit Israeli prisons in October, making it difficult to know the number and conditions of those held there.

Released Palestinian prisoners were reportedly beaten, tortured and humiliated before and after the outbreak of war in Gaza on 7 October.

How many Palestinian prisoners are being held without charge?

Adamir said some 3,376 Palestinians held in Israel are under administrative detention. Administrative detainees are people who are held in prison without charge or trial.

Neither the administrative detainees, who include women and children, nor their lawyers are allowed to see the “secret evidence” that the Israeli army says forms the basis for their arrests. This practice against Palestinian detainees has existed since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948.

The period for which these individuals are arrested by the military can be extended, meaning that the period of arrest is indefinite and could last for many years.

Adamel said those in administrative detention included 41 children and 12 women.

What to do next?

The first phase of the ceasefire, which lasts for six weeks, should see the release of another 26 captives, as well as hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The next communication is next Saturday.

Many hope the next phase will end a war that has displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and put hundreds of thousands at risk of famine. Talks began on February 3.