Jailed schoolgirl becomes Palestinian symbol

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BEITIN, Palestinian Territories (AFP) 3 February by Hossam Ezzedine  A 14-year-old schoolgirl jailed for trying to attack Israeli soldiers has become a symbol of Palestinian anger over the arrests of children in the occupied territories. The two-month sentence for Malak al-Khatib, who was accused of stone-throwing and possession of a knife, has unleashed a wave of solidarity and support among Palestinians. "My heart broke when I saw her in court, cuffed and shackled," her mother Khawla al-Khatib told AFP from her home in the town of Beitin near Ramallah. "I brought in a coat for her to wear because it was cold, but the judge refused to let her have it," the distressed 50-year-old said. Israeli forces arrest about 1,000 children every year in the occupied West Bank, often on charges of stone-throwing, according to rights group Defence for Children International Palestine (DCI Palestine). But the case of Malak has brought countless media organisations flocking to her family's door and attracted more public attention than most. The difference -- she is a girl. The Palestinian Prisoners' Club estimates that 200 Palestinian minors are held in Israeli prisons, but only four are girls, and Malak is the youngest.
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