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In light of the events of the last week al-Haq calls attention to the flagrant violations of the human
rights, including the right to life, of children in the Occupied Territories. During the course of the
intifada a disproportionate number of children have been killed or injured. The death of
four-month-old Iman Heijo earlier this week brings to 126 the number of Palestinian children
under the age of 18 who have been killed since the outbreak of the Intifada last year.
Approximately 2,500 children have been injured, including an infant who was injured during a
shelling attack in Rafah yesterday. The bodies of two Israeli settler youths from the West Bank
Israeli settlement of Tekoah were also found dead yesterday in a cave close to the settlement.
Indiscriminate shelling by tanks and attack helicopters and the excessive use of heavy
machineguns and tanks by Israeli forces to either prevent or retaliate against attacks on Israeli
targets continues to place Palestinian children in danger. During the first week and a half of May
alone at least 30 children have been injured. On 6 May Israeli forces invaded Beit
Jala. Three children were seriously injured in the attack; one lost his arm and another her eye. In the same
attack that killed Iman Heijo on 7 May seven schools and a kindergarten were damaged by
rockets or bullets. More than 20 students were injured, several seriously. According to a report
in Haaretz IDF Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz admitted yesterday that the shelling of Khan Younis
on 7 May was excessive. However, no changes were made in Israeli open fire regulations leaving
the door open to further loss of innocent life.
The majority of recent large-scale attacks by Israeli forces have been against refugee camps. In
addition to shelling, which has affected both West Bank and Gaza camps, Israeli forces have also
entered into refugee camps in Gaza and destroyed numerous homes. UNRWA estimates place
the number of refugee homes that have been severely damaged or destroyed in Gaza at 250.
Hundreds have been left homeless including many children. These actions are a clear violation of
International human rights and International humanitarian laws including the Fourth Geneva
Convention of 1949. According to article 22 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure that a child who is seeking
refugee status or who is considered a refugee in accordance with applicable international or
domestic law and procedure shall
receive appropriate protection and humanitarian
assistance in the enjoyment of applicable rights set forth in the present Convention and in
other international human rights or humanitarian instruments to which the said States are
Parties.
This not only obligates Israel to implement the Forth Geneva Convention in the territories and
demands that it provide all possible protection to children and protected persons, but also
obligates the International community to act on behalf of Palestinians living under occupation in
accordance with their Article 1 obligations.
The two Israeli children found dead yesterday were also not the first Israeli children to die during
the Intifada. While the circumstances surrounding the deaths of these two children are not yet
clear, if they were killed for political reasons their murders must be condemned in the strongest
terms. Reprisals and attacks upon civilians, especially children, or civilian targets are never
legitimate. However, the State of Israel must bear a certain amount of responsibility for their
deaths. According to a legislation passed during the Intifada any Israeli who enters Palestinian
areas can be arrested and faces up to three years in prison. This law has ostensibly been enacted
for the protection of Israeli citizens due to the danger they might face upon entering into
Palestinian areas. However, Israeli settlers continue to move throughout the Occupied Territories
freely. The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 in Article 49 forbids the transferring of civilians of
the occupying power to the occupied territories. At the same time it also forbids the transfer of
the occupied protected persons from the Occupied territories. This is partially aimed at
protecting the civilians of the occupier from the expected acts of resistance by the occupied
people. All states, with the exception of Israel, recognize Israeli settlements as illegal under this
article.
Additional to the killing and injury of Palestinian children, childrens rights to health, education,
economic stability, and security have all been flagrantly violated. Other military measures being
used to suppress the uprising are also having a clear negative impact on childrens physical,
mental, and emotional health. Most notable among these measures are house demolitions, the
prolonged siege, curfews, administrative detentions, continuous raids against residential areas such
as villages and refugee camps, and the indiscriminate use of lethal force.
Palestinian children in the Occupied Territories are living a harsh and bitter reality, one that
contrasts starkly with the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and the basic
precepts of human rights. Article 38 (1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child requires that
States Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for rules of international humanitarian
law applicable to them in armed conflicts which are relevant to the child. The Article goes on to
say in paragraph 4 that In accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law
to protect the civilian population in armed conflicts, States Parties shall take all feasible measures
to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict. Israel and the
International Community are thus obligated to take every possible measure to protect the rights of
all children living in the Occupied Territories.
In light of the continued violations of Palestinian childrens rights, and the ongoing violence
perpetrated by Israeli forces in the Occupied Territories, al-Haq calls for the following actions:
1. The International Community must ensure that the Israeli authorities abide by provisions
of international humanitarian law and human rights instruments that they have ratified
voluntarily, particularly the Covenant on the Rights of the Child.
2. Send human rights monitors to the Occupied territories to document abuses perpetrated
by Israeli forces.
3. The United Nations Security Council to take the necessary measures to pressure the
Israeli Government to stop its excessive use of force and aggression against Palestinian
civilians.
4. Immediate action by the States Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to bear
responsibility towards breaches and grave breaches committed against Palestinians in the
Occupied Territories, and to fulfill their legal obligations as High Contracting Parties of the
Fourth Geneva Convention under Article 1 of the Convention that stipulates that States
must act to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances.
5. The General Assembly should expand the mandate of UNRWA to allow it to provide
protection for Palestinian refugees in the Occupied Territories. |