Peter Welch: “for those of us who have long supported U.S. diplomatic leadership in pursuit of a secure, democratic Israel alongside a…”

“for those of us who have long supported U.S. diplomatic leadership in pursuit of a secure, democratic Israel alongside a demilitarized, independent Palestinian state, the protection of due process and the rule of law has central importance. Equal access to justice is essential for lasting peace in the Middle East. Today, I voice a concern shared by many of my colleagues: the incarceration, prosecution, and punishment of Palestinian children in the Israeli military justice system. As a former public defender and member of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution, which has jurisdiction over human rights, I have a perspective on the way justice systems should treat children. To put it categorically, civilians, and especially children, should not be prosecuted in military courts. It is analogous to how I feel about child soldiers; children should not be recruited or allowed to serve in the armed forces. The reasons should be obvious. Civilians are, by definition, noncombatants. Military justice systems lack independence and routinely fall short in providing the fundamental protections of due process and a fair trial that exist in the civilian justice system and which are rooted in international law. Israel, however, automatically and systematically prosecutes Palestinian civilians in the West Bank in Israeli military courts.”