NABLUS, (PIC)
What happened to Palestinian child Mohammed Saif Wasif Hanani, 12 years old, is not an isolated incident. It belongs to a growing pattern of violence against Palestinian children, one that stretches across geography, from Gaza to the occupied West Bank, revealing a consistent field practice regardless of location.
Only days after the humiliation and abuse of child Jawad Abu Nassar in Gaza, a strikingly similar scene unfolded in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, reinforcing accusations that the weakest segments of Palestinian society are being deliberately targeted.
Child’s journey turned into an ordeal
Mohammed Hanani was simply returning home from a family visit on Saturday evening (28/3/2026) when Israeli soldiers stormed the town.
According to eyewitness accounts and family testimony, soldiers intercepted the boy during the raid, beat him violently, and arrested him. The assault captured on civilians’ cameras and widely circulated online shows what his family describes as a brutal and disproportionate use of force against an unarmed child.
Hanani later recounted that a soldier forced his head to the ground and beat him repeatedly during his detention.
His grandfather explained that residents were already fleeing the streets as the raid began. Mohammed was trying to reach his home when soldiers shouted at him, rushed toward him, and began striking him.
The family did not witness the incident firsthand. They learned of it through social media footage showing the boy being beaten and arrested, an experience that plunged relatives into shock and fear.
Hours later, Mohammed was released at the Beit Furik military checkpoint, still handcuffed. Visible bruises, swelling beneath his eye, and signs of psychological trauma remained evident.
Not an exception, a pattern
Observers argue that the attack cannot be separated from a broader context. The incident revived memories of the recent case involving child Jawad Abu Nassar in Gaza, reportedly abused under shocking circumstances to pressure his father into surrendering himself. Across both cases, the same elements appear repeatedly:
• an unarmed child,
• overwhelming military force,
• and an absence of accountability.
Although the Israeli army announced an investigation into the Beit Furik incident, the family expressed deep skepticism, citing what they describe as a long record of abuses that rarely result in punishment.
“We do not expect accountability,” the grandfather said. “We have seen many assaults on children, and nothing happens. Soldiers act above the law.”
Childhood under military raids
The assault occurred amid nearly daily military incursions into West Bank towns, including Beit Furik. These raids leave deep psychological and social scars, particularly on children growing up in environments shaped by arrests, confrontations, and recurring violence.
Human rights organizations both international and local have repeatedly documented the arrest of hundreds of Palestinian children each year. Many, according to these reports, are subjected to physical abuse during arrest or interrogation and denied basic legal protections.
Estimates from prisoner advocacy groups suggest that between 500 and 700 Palestinian children are detained annually in the West Bank alone, some as young as twelve years old. Reported violations include:
• beatings and intimidation,
• sleep deprivation,
• interrogations without lawyers or family members present,
• and trials before military courts that fail to meet minimum juvenile justice standards.
At any given moment, hundreds of Palestinian minors remain imprisoned, including children held under administrative detention without formal charge or trial.
A shared reality across Gaza and the West Bank
Taken together, incidents from Gaza and the West Bank point to what many advocates describe not as scattered abuses but as a sustained reality: Palestinian childhood unfolding under systemic exposure to violence, with little protection and even less accountability.
The recurring image remains the same a child confronting military power alone, caught between occupation and impunity, where vulnerability itself becomes grounds for victimization.