The Ministry of Social Affairs and the Conflict Resolution Center open a court for juveniles in Gaza

Gaza, Publication and Information Unit:

At midday today the Ministry of Social Affairs, the High Judicial Council, the public prosecution, the Ministry of Interior and the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution opened a court for juveniles at the premises of the Al-Rabee institution for the care of juveniles.

Counsel Abdel Raouf Al-Halabi, president of the High Judicial Council, said the opening of a court for juveniles is the first step in the field of juvenile justice and that the Palestinian judiciary seeks to spare juveniles courts shared with adults, saying: "The Palestinian judiciary is ready to provide a specialised judge to hear juvenile cases."

The deputy minister of social affairs, Dr. Youssef Ibrahim, stressed that the ministry will increase the number of probation officers and open a section dedicated to juvenile girls.

For his part, the attorney general, Counsel Ismail Jaber, noted that the prosecution has always sought to take the necessary measures to achieve effective justice for juveniles, by issuing many instructions in this respect.

For the Palestinian police, Major General Taysir Al-Batsh, the police commander, thanked those who made the effort to establish a court for juveniles, valuing the Palestinian Center's role in its tireless work to create effective justice for juveniles. He stressed that the police have assigned professional investigating officers to work on juvenile cases from beginning to end and to take part in training courses in order to refine their capacities and skills in dealing with juveniles.

For the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, Mr. Iyad Abu Hjair, director of the Gaza branch, said the opening of the juvenile court is an important milestone on the road to juvenile justice, explaining: "We face many challenges: making it possible to carry out all the proceedings against a juvenile in the same place at the Al-Rabee institution, transferring the experience to the south of the Strip, and the ability of the juvenile justice system to link the preventive, therapeutic and developmental aspects of juvenile justice."