AMMAN — A
UN report released on Monday revealed that
Israel bears responsibility for killing 78 Palestinian children and maiming 982
others in the occupied Palestinian territories in 2021.
اضافة اعلان
The annual UN
report on “Children and Armed Conflict” details the devastating impact that
various forms of conflict had on children around the world in 2021.
The report
stated that nearly 19,000 children suffered in 2021 from “grave violations” in
21 countries, including four Arab countries. The four Arab countries are Syria,
Yemen, Somalia, and Palestine, according to the report.
Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres warned that “if these numbers continue in 2022, Israel will be
included in the ‘List of Shame’ attached to the next report.” The “list of
shame”, first announced in 2002 and also known as the “Black List”, is an
important accountability mechanism and currently includes 57 government armed
forces and non-state armed groups responsible for grave violations against
children in armed conflict.
In presenting
the report, Guterres said “I am shocked by the number of children killed and
maimed by Israeli forces during hostilities, in air strikes on densely
populated areas and through the use of live ammunition during law enforcement
operations, and by the persistent lack of accountability for these violations.”
The term “grave
violations” in the report refers to the crimes of “the killing and maiming of
children, sexual exploitation and rape, forced recruitment, and depriving
children of access to humanitarian aid.
Under the title
“Israel and the State of Palestine”, the report said that the UN has verified
2,934 grave violations against 1,208 Palestinian children and nine Israeli
children (915 boys, 302 girls) in the occupied West Bank, including East
Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and Israel. It also verified the recruitment of one
Palestinian boy by the Mujahidin Brigades in
Gaza.
The report went
on to say that the UN has verified the detention of 637 Palestinian children
for alleged security offences by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank,
including 557 in East Jerusalem. Among those children, 85 reported
ill-treatment and breaches of due process by Israeli forces while in detention,
with 75 percent reporting having experienced physical violence.
A total of 88
children (86 Palestinians, two Israelis; 64 boys, 24 girls) were killed, 69 in
Gaza, 17 in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and two in
Israel. The Israeli forces were directly responsible for the killing of 78
children while Palestinian armed groups were accused of killing eight.
All 17 children in the occupied
West Bank, including East Jerusalem, were
killed by Israeli forces using live ammunition mainly during demonstrations. In
Gaza, 59 children were killed by Israeli air strikes and one by live ammunition
by Israeli forces during the escalation of hostilities in May, six were killed
by rockets fired by
Palestinian armed groups, one was killed by Israeli forces
during a demonstration at the Israel-Gaza perimeter fence, one by explosive
remnants of war, and one by unidentified perpetrators, according to the report.
A total of 1,128
children (1,121 Palestinians, seven Israelis; 850 boys, 278 girls) were maimed
by
Israeli forces (982), Israeli settlers (28), Palestinian armed groups (46),
including Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades (18), Palestinian
perpetrators (4), and unidentified perpetrators (68), including by explosive
remnants of war (10).
Of the children maimed
by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, 196 were
maimed during demonstrations against settlement activities. The seven Israeli
children were maimed by rockets fired by Palestinian armed groups, including
Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades.
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