The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has recorded a 250% increase in the number of Palestinian children killed in the occupied West Bank since October last year.
“A total of 143 Palestinian children have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since October last year, a spike of nearly 250 per cent compared to the preceding nine months, during which 41 Palestinian children were killed,” UNICEF said in a statement on Monday. Two Israeli children were killed during the same period.
Additionally, more than 440 Palestinian children have been injured with live ammunition, the organization said, adding that the figures raise serious alarm around unnecessary and excessive use of force against the most vulnerable.
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“For years now, children living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have been exposed to horrific violence,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, adding that the situation “has deteriorated significantly, coinciding with the escalation of hostilities inside Gaza.”
She emphasized: “We are seeing frequent allegations of Palestinian children being detained on their way home from school, or shot while walking on the streets. The violence needs to stop now.”
Increased Military Operations
The casualties have been reported in 10 out of 11 governorates in the West Bank, with more than half of the killings taking place in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nablus.
These areas “have seen an increase in large and militarized law enforcement operations over the past two years, indicating a shift in intensity and scope,” according to UNICEF.
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The organization noted that the increasing tensions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, were also impacting “the physical and mental well-being” of thousands of children and families, “who are now living in daily fear for their lives.”
Children report being scared to walk around their neighbourhoods or to travel to school.
“The true cost of the violence in the State of Palestine and Israel will be measured in children’s lives—those lost and those forever changed by it,” said Russell. “What the children desperately need is an end to violence and a lasting political solution to the crisis, so that they can reach their fullest potential in peace and safety.”
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Before October 7, children in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, “were already exposed to the highest levels of violence in 20 years, with 41 Palestinian children and 6 Israeli children killed in the first 9 months of last year.”
UNICEF said they have also been heavily affected by movement and access restrictions that disrupted their daily lives.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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