UNICEF welcomes release of Palestinian child detainees from Israeli prisons

[News_Editor]

UNICEF welcomes release of Palestinian child detainees from Israeli prisons

2011-12-19 16:16:33 GMT+7 (ICT)

JERUSALEM (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Monday welcomed the release of more than 50 Palestinian children from Israeli jails as part of Sunday's prisoner swap agreement with Hamas.

The 55 released children are between the ages of 14 and 17. "We welcome this release of children by the Israeli authorities and we look forward to further progress on the issue of child detainees," said Jean Gough, UNICEF Special Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The children were released as part of the second phase of a prisoner swap agreement with Hamas. Under the agreement, Israel agreed to free 1,027 prisoners in exchange for the release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit who had been held in Hamas captivity in Gaza for almost six years. During the first phase in October, Israel released 477 Palestinian prisoners, including participants in some of the bloodiest terrorist attacks of the last decade.

All prisoners released as part of the deal were forced to sign a document in which they pledge not to engage in terrorist activity in the future. Israeli officials previously said they will hunt down any released prisoners if they are found to have engaged in terrorism again.

According to UNICEF, a total of 161 Palestinians under 18 years of age were in Israeli military detention as of December 1. At least 106 Palestinian children remain in Israeli jails following Sunday's release.

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