“There is a 4-year-old boy here”: Palestinian children continue to collect alms on the roads of the north, and the authorities ignore

The country continues to abandon the children on the side of the road, both during the war and during the hottest week. Many dozens of small children, most of them from the Palestinian Authority, continue to collect alms at intersections in the north of the country and in Wadi Ara.

At the beginning of the war, the law enforcement authorities in Israel believed that the war and the tight blockade on the territories of the Palestinian Authority would put an end to one of the most serious exploitation phenomena that exists in Israel. But in practice, after a short break, the children returned to the roads, Evidence of this was published in ‘Davar’ already in January. Many new testimonies published today (Friday) illustrate the extensive scope of the phenomenon and the need for significant action by the state authorities.

In the documents that reached ‘Davar’ from citizens following the phenomenon, children are seen near police cars, without fear or action on the part of the police. In the last few days, documents have arrived at ‘Davar’ The northern junctions and the Wadi Ara area, of very small children collecting alms at the height of the heat and at night. “I’m at the Achihud junction, I see children maybe 8 years old,” says an activist In the WhatsApp group In a voice message, “They’re smoking cigarettes, I don’t dare take pictures, and there’s a child here that I wouldn’t give more than 4. A really, really small child. That’s it.”

Palestinian children collect alms on the northern roads, next to a police car (photo: private album)

Palestinian boys collect alms on the roads of the north (photo: private album)

A Palestinian boy collects alms on the roads of the north (photo: private album)

A Palestinian boy collects alms on the roads of the north (photo: private album)

A Palestinian boy collects alms on the roads of the north (photo: private album)

A Palestinian boy collects alms on the roads of the north (photo: private album)

A Palestinian boy collects alms on the roads of the north (photo: private album)

the phenomenon, which was defined by the Israeli Ministry of Justice as human trafficking, continues to exist without interruption at the northern junctions: Achihud, Evelin–Ableiim and more, and in Wadi Ara near Umm al-Faham and Barta’a. Dozens of minors, some of them no more than 10 years old, pass unhindered between the cars, reaching out, exposed to continuous damage from vehicles, the weather, and especially from their ‘pimps’, who earn hundreds and thousands of shekels a day. In the documentation published in ‘Davar’ they are seen sitting on the sides of the roads, while the children are on the roads.

at the public defender’s office They tell ‘Davar’ that in the last year they did not represent minors who engaged in begging and were arrested for being illegal residents.

The police: “The handling of the issue is complex and requires welfare involvement”

In a clarification with the Israel Police in view of the documents from the last few days, and in response to the question of whether arrests were made of the older operators, who were documented in a series of articles in ‘Davar’ last year, the police spokesmen answered: “AWe take seriously the exploitation and/or removal of helpless minors to commit crimes, and are working to bring justice to their senders on the one hand, and to involve the welfare authorities on the other hand. The police periodically carry out proactive operations in order to combat the phenomenon, however, due to the young age of the children, which means a lack of criminal responsibility, handling the issue is complex and requires welfare involvement“. The response did not refer at all to the action against the older operators.

also in the unit for combating human trafficking in the Ministry of Justice, It is headed by an attorney Dina Dominitz, The unit of faith in eradicating this phenomenon, which belongs to the third world, is taking its time. “The information was received and passed on to the relevant authorities in the police, and there is a dialogue and thinking on the issue between the government ministries and the relevant authorities“.