Palestinians condemn Israel's absence from 'list of shame'

Palestinians expressed resentment over excluding Israel from the U.N. "list of shame," which includes those who violated children's rights last year. "U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres seems to have heard nothing of the violations committed by the Israeli occupation government against Palestinian children on a daily basis," member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Ahmad Majdalani said, wondering how Israel was excluded from the report at a time when it was complicit in the murder and imprisonment of Palestinian children.

Hamas also condemned the fact that Israel was not added to the U.N. "list of shame." "We are condemning the fact that U.N. did not add Israel to their 2018 "list of shame" considering their violations concerning Palestinian kids' rights," said Hamas in a written statement. The statement quoted that the most violations concerning Palestinian children's rights by Israel occurred in 2018 according to U.N. institutions reports. Adding that the international foundation was "giving Israel the green light to commit more crimes against the children and the people of Palestine" by surrendering to the pressures of Israel and the U.S.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres' Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba had mentioned the possibility of Israel's addition to the 2018 list at the end of the year during her July 30 press conference after Israel's absence drew some reaction. Guterres' 2018 report involved a statistic that revealed the deaths of 59 Palestinian children by the Israeli army. In the first half of this year, Israeli occupation forces killed 16 Palestinian children and injured 1,223 in the blockaded Gaza Strip, according to a report released by the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights. The report also revealed that there has been an increase in the number of Palestinian children killed and injured by Israeli forces, while pointing out the ongoing systematic violations of human rights in the Gaza Strip.

In a press release last year, the Defense for Children International-Palestine, which advocates for the rights of Palestinian children in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, asserted earlier that Israeli forces had deliberately killed minors with live ammunition. Israel has responded to the rallies, held every Friday, with deadly force, killing more than 220 Palestinians and injuring thousands more. Israel was criticized by a U.N. human rights body for its killing of protesters in Gaza and for its treatment of Palestinians, declaring it a "war crime" under the Statute of Rome. The high casualty toll triggered a diplomatic backlash against Israel and new charges of excessive use of force against unarmed protesters.