On Palestinian Child’s Day: More than 200 Palestinian children are in Israeli occupation jails

Pain, insecurity, lack of education and even imprisonment continue to characterize the life of the Palestinian children under Israeli occupation, yet those children keep exporting stories of resilience and hope to the entire world.

April 5 marks the Palestinian Child’s Day which is an occasion to remind the world of the suffering of the Palestinian children under the Israeli occupation, which has worsened amid the deadly silence of international community over the occupation’s violations of their internationally guaranteed rights, mainly the right to safe and healthy childhood.

According to a statement by the Palestinian Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Commission, 200 Palestinian minors are suffering from physical and psychological torture in the Israeli occupation jails. The commission called on the international community, the UNICEF and the Human Rights Council to act immediately and pressure the occupation authorities to release all the Palestinian prisoners, particularly the children whose lives have become in danger because of awful jail conditions against which the World Health Organization has warned to avoid any coronavirus infections.

 Abdul Naser Farawaneh, Head of the Studies and Documentation Section  at the Prisoners’ Commission, told SANA correspondent that the Israeli occupation forces are adopting a systematic policy that targets the present and the future of Palestinian childhood.

He said that the Palestinian children, are not like other children of the world. They open their eyes to life under occupation and see the occupation’s crimes against their families, lands and existence and as they grow up, they adopt their just cause and, like their elder Palestinians, they defend their homeland and resist occupation.

According to Farawaneh, since 2000, the occupation forces have detained more than 17000 Palestinian minors aged between 12-18 years as well as tens of children who are not more than 10 years old. All have been exposed to torture, he added, pointing out that most of the minors were detained in occupied al-Quds within the framework of the occupation’s practices to implement its judaization scheme in the city.

Muhsen Abu Ramadan, head of the non-government organizations network, said that the Palestinian children are experiencing very difficult situation because of the occupation crimes.

80% of Gaza children are suffering from malnutrition because of Israeli blockade

He made it clear that the unfair Israeli blockade against Gaza strip has had disastrous impacts on the life of Palestinian children. More than 80% of Gaza children are suffering from malnutrition because of the absence of food security and from psychological shocks as a result of the continuous Israeli raids on the strip, he said, noting that this situation has reflected negatively on their education level and physical growth.

Occupation forces killed 48 Palestinian children during marches of return

On his part, lawyer and researcher Hussein Hammad said that some 48 Palestinian children were killed in cold blood by the occupation forces during their participation in the marches of return which have been erupted in occupied Gaza since March 2018. He added that more than 4970 children were also wounded, tens of them are suffering permanent disabilities.

Hammad indicated that the Palestinian legal centers are documenting the Israeli crimes against childhood and are working to send a report on these crimes to the International Criminal Court to hold the officials of the Israeli occupation accountable.

He urged the international community to act immediately to protect the Palestinian childhood.

Hamda Mustafa