Minor to be forced to leave parents’ home

Monday, June 20, 2016, 8:28 The GOC of the Home Front Command, Major General Yo’el Strik, rejected the request of a 15-year old Yitzhar resident served with an administrative order and determined that by 9:00 on Monday, June, 20, when the order comes into effect, he must leave his parents’ home.
The minor, a 15-year old resident of Yitzhar, was served with two administrative orders on the night of May 31, 2016 during a police raid on his home. As with all administrative orders, they were issued without presenting any evidence and without bringing the youth to trial. The only claim against him is suspected “involvement with violent activities targeting Palestinians”.
One order is signed by the GOC of the Central Command, Major General Roni Numa, and bans the youth from Yehuda and Shomron, including his parents’ home in Yitzhar. The second order, signed by the GOC of the Home Front Command, Major General Yo’el Strik, states that the youth will be under house arrest at night at his grandparents’ home in Petah Tikva and is banned from making contact with 26 specific individuals, including a 12-year old neighbor.
The grandparents were not consulted about the arrangement and in the end were unable to host him under the conditions stipulated in the order, and no other suitable location was found. The minor was allowed to remain at his parents’ home in Yitzhar during a search for an acceptable host. On June 6 the Home Front Command held a hearing for the minor, prior to which a summary of the claims against him was presented to his attorneys.
Honenu Attorney Chai Haber, who represented the minor at the hearing, stated that the summary is extremely vague. At the conclusion of the hearing, Honenu Attorney Chai Haber stated that the minor does not have any place to go and will remain at his home in order to prevent a severe violation of his rights and damage to his education. Haber mentioned that it is very difficult to find a host for someone who is under house arrest from this particular population because of the strict police surveillance on them. Policemen arrive every night and knock loudly, waking up everyone in the household and sometimes also waking the neighbors.
Despite the fact that the minor has not found a suitable location, the GOC determined that by 9:00 this morning (June 20) he must leave his parents’ home in Yitzhar, and the entire region of Yehuda and Shomron.
A short time before the minor’s deadline for leaving his parents’ home, the father, who had written a letter to Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman requesting cancellation of the administrative orders, stated that his son has nowhere to go. “My son does not have any place to go. He lives here. His family lives here. How can it be that one day a child is presented with a sheet of paper and on it a order expelling him from his home. The possible consequences of banning a minor from his home are too drastic to be considered. Who will take responsibility?? Who will care for the child?”
In an urgent letter to the Home Front Command on June 2, Honenu Attorney Adi Kedar pointed out that an order banning a minor resident from all areas of Yehuda and Shomron is illegal and violates international children’s rights treaties.