NEW YORK (Dispatches) – United Nations human rights experts have rebuked a new Israeli law authorizing Palestinian children as young as 12 years old to be sentenced to life imprisonment, stressing that the ruling is in contravention of international human rights standards.
The UN experts voiced concern about Youth Law (Adjudication, Punishment and Methods of Treatment) (Amendment No. 25 – Temporary Provisions) recently ratified in the Israeli parliament, Knesset, which permitts life imprisonment for 12-year-olds if they were convicted of “terrorism” and “terrorist acts” in the occupying regime’s courts.
The experts also highlighted that alongside the controversial rule, another law — the National Insurance Law (Amendment No. 251) (Revoking Allowances for a Child Imprisoned due to Terrorist Offence) — allows the illegal entity to suspend financial aid meant for children’s welfare, further impacting vulnerable groups.
“We are concerned that the amendments and laws are inconsistent with the right of children under the Convention on the Rights of the Child,” the UN human rights officials said.
“We underline that any measures taken to combat terrorism and violent extremism, including incitement of and support for terrorist acts, must comply with all obligations under international human rights and international humanitarian law.”
According to the experts, Israeli military laws already allows the regime to detain Palestinian children aged 12 and above in the occupied West Bank, but the new legislation significantly escalates penalties, with courts empowered to hand down life sentences for crimes if they are linked to terrorism.
The UN human rights officials called on the Tel Aviv regime to immediately review and revoke the harsh laws, stressing that imprisoning children for life is a violation of international standards and human dignity.
They also urged global actors to put pressure on Israel to respect children’s rights and protect their welfare, stressing the need for urgent international attention to safeguard the rights of Palestinian children and promote peace and justice. 
Both laws were passed in November 2024 amid heightened tensions in the region, especially affecting Palestinian children living under occupation in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, slammed the laws at the time, characterizing the experiences of Palestinian minors in Israeli detention as extreme and often inhumane.
Albanese said Palestinian minors in Israeli custody are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” and that “generations of Palestinians will carry the scars and trauma from the Israeli mass incarceration system.”
Official reports said a record 37 percent of all Palestinian child detainees are held in administrative detention without charge or trial, while Israeli authorities enact systematic restrictions on access to legal counsel, family visits, and parliamentary oversight.
As many as 323 Palestinian children have been detained in Israeli prisons since March 31, the latest data available from the Israel Prison Service (IPS), which is the highest number since 2017.