Israeli court sentences Palestinian child for 18 years in prison

An Israeli court sentenced a 15-year-old Palestinian child to 18 years in prison for alleged involvement in an attack in the occupied West Bank, a prisoners’ affairs group said on Sunday.

The Jerusalem District Court also ordered Mohammed Basel Zalbani, from the Shu’fat refugee camp, east of occupied East Jerusalem, to pay 300,000 shekels ($83,333) in compensation, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement.

The organization said Zalbani was arrested on Feb. 13, 2023, on charges of resisting the Israeli occupation. His family’s home was also demolished.

According to the Hamas-run Prisoner Information Office, Zalbani was accused of involvement in the killing of an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint in the Shu’fat camp in 2023.

At least 14,500 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli prisons, including 1,115 children, figures released by the prisoners’ affairs group showed.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank, where at least 915 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 others injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Health Ministry.