on being a child in the land of the most moral democracy in the mid east, as we're constantly told;

Shams was just playing football, but for Israeli occupation soldiers that’s enough to detain, arrest, beat, and threaten to kill an 11-year-old child – and it’s not just a fluke: CPT suggests that Israel is trying to “traumatize a generation.”

reposted from Community Peacemaker Teams – CPT (formerly Christian Peacemaker Teams), September 13, 2022

His name is Shams which means “the sun.” He is 11 years old, in the sixth grade at school, a Palestinian kid living in the old city of Hebron. He likes to play football, read stories, play computer games, and take care of his pet bird, a gift from his father.

Shams likes to meet his friends and play football near the famous Al-Sunnah Mosque—there is no other place to play in the old city because the houses are built very close to each other. Near the mosque, there is a small place to play, but behind the mosque walls are the Beit Haddassah settlement and the military base.

While Shams was playing football near the mosque with his friends, six Israeli soldiers came to the area claiming that the boys were throwing stones into the Beit Hadassah settlements.

When Shams and his friend saw the soldiers running toward them, they were scared and ran inside the mosque. The soldiers followed them and detained them for 30 minutes outside of the mosque. During that time, the soldiers also stopped any child that passed by the mosque, demanding to know what they were doing in the area.......more......