Occupied West Bank (Quds News Network)- A disturbing surge in violence against Palestinian children has emerged in the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023. According to United Nations data, 171 children have been killed by Israel in this period, averaging the death of a child every two days. Over 1,000 more have been injured, many with live ammunition.
The youngest victim was a 4-year-old girl killed near a checkpoint in January while sitting in a taxi with her mother, reported The Guardian. Despite the absence of an official war in the West Bank, children there are being killed at a rate not seen since the second intifada in 2002.
UNICEF Sounds the Alarm
Jonathan Crickx, a UNICEF spokesperson, expressed grave concern, telling the Guardian that “In the course of last year there was an extremely concerning increase in children killed in conflict-related violence in the West Bank, and we already see the trend is continuing.”
The United Nations only counts verified cases with confirmed names, ages, and causes of death. However, no Israeli soldier has been charged in connection with these killings. The Israeli military often attributes such incidents to alleged participation in “combat activities.”
Victims Denied Justice
Advocates say accountability for these killings is almost nonexistent. Ayed Abu Eqtaish, from Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP), told the Guardian that over the past decade, only one Israeli soldier was convicted for killing a Palestinian child. Even in that case, the soldier received a minimal sentence.
DCIP has shifted its focus from pursuing justice through Israel’s military courts to documenting these tragedies due to the systemic lack of accountability.
The report mentions eyewitness’ accounts confirming that Israeli soldiers prevented locals from assisting wounded children after they were shot while playing.
