Madam Chair,
The State of Palestine somberly comes before this August Committee today to draw your attention to the most recent tragedy that took place in the Occupied State of Palestine and the crimes committed against our people by Israel, the occupying Power. Sadly, as has always been the case, under the systematic oppression and brutality of Israel’s 47-years of occupation, Palestinian children have borne the brunt of its illegal policies and practices. This was tragically the case in Occupied Gaza, in which for more than fifty days, the occupying Power, attacked the land and the civilian population from land, air and sea, killing, wounding, damaging and destroying everything in sight. The disproportionate use of force by Israel, the occupying Power, in Gaza was evident by the damage and sheer destruction of government and civilian infrastructure, residential neighborhoods, UN schools and hospitals.
My delegation believes that it is important to provide some of the details of Israel’s bombardment against the Gaza Strip, home to just under 1 million children, which started July 8. In fifty days, the occupying Power killed more than 500 Palestinian children. In fifty days, more than 3,100 children were wounded and it is estimated that 1,000 of them will suffer from a permanent disability as a result of injuries sustained in Israel’s aggression. Moreover, UN estimates indicate that 373,000 children in Gaza are in urgent need of direct and specialized psychosocial support due to the trauma they were forced to endure, 15,000 children are now orphaned and 6,000 children have a mother or father that will suffer a lifelong disability. Also, an estimated 18,000 housing units were destroyed or damaged and nearly half a million children were unable to begin the new school year.
In addition to the suffering from Israel’s latest aggression against Gaza, Palestinian children are suffering from the enormously detrimental effects of the now 8 year blockade which has been illegally imposed on Gaza by land, air and sea by Israel, the occupying Power-imprisoning them into one large cage. We condemn this inhuman, illegal blockade, which is a gross form of collective punishment. In this regard, we call on the occupying Power to abide by international law and heed to the calls of the international community and lift the blockade in order to give the children of Gaza and their families the opportunity to lead normal lives and the opportunity to develop and thrive.
Madam Chair,
The Palestinian people have just begun to pick up the pieces, yet again, of their destroyed land, their lost children and family members, and as in the past, they will never surrender and will continue to fight for their freedom and rights. They will rebuild and look to the international community to finally uphold its responsibilities and uphold the rule of law and to provide protection to the Palestinian people until the termination of occupation. At the same time, the Palestinian leadership will take the necessary actions to ensure that Israel is held accountable for its crimes and that the perpetrators are brought to justice in order to never allow for such a human tragedy to befall on the Palestinian people ever again.
Madam Chair,
While Israel continuously identifies itself as “the only democracy in the Middle East”, it fails to ever mention that it is the only occupier in the Middle East. It is also the only country in the world that automatically and systematically prosecutes children in military courts that lack fundamental fair trial guarantees and are not designed or administered to respect children’s rights. In the occupied West Bank, including in East Jerusalem, children are illegally detained and arrested, often in the middle of the night while they lay asleep in their beds, then bound, blindfolded and taken to an unknown location. Scared and terrified children are denied seeing their parents, their lawyers and are not afforded legal rights. Often time’s children are physically and verbally abused, or worse, tortured, and all are traumatized for life from their experience under Israeli detention.
In one example of the occupying Power’s brutality against Palestinian children, I would like to share with you the story of Tariq Abukhdeir, a 15-year-old Palestinian-American boy, who was on his summer vacation visiting his family in Palestine. Tariq was taken by Israeli occupying forces and they slammed his face into the ground, zip tied his hands behind his back, and proceeded to kick him in the head and ribs. Tariq went unconscious, but videos that were published for the whole world to see shows the Israeli occupying forces dragging the unconscious boy and continuing to kick him in the head. When Tariq woke up, he was blindfolded in an Israeli jail. His face unrecognizable from the blows to his head and face.
After holding Tariq for six hours, the Israelis finally took him to a doctor. The doctor informed the Israeli occupying forces that Tariq was bleeding internally and needed urgent medical care. The occupying forces responded by returning Tariq to jail where he would stay for four days before he was finally brought to an Israeli court. He was sentenced to nine days house arrest – in spite of the fact that he was never charged with a crime. Needless to say, he will be forever traumatized and scarred from his experience.
Sadly, the beating took place while Tariq was mourning the brutal and savage killing of his cousin, Muhammad Abukhdeir, a 16-year-old Palestinian boy, who was abducted, tortured, burned alive and ultimately killed by terrorist Israeli settlers.
Neither Tariq nor his cousin Muhammed are the first and sadly they won’t be the last Palestinian child who will suffer from the barbaric violence and crimes committed by Israeli occupying forces. As the Palestinian leadership has continuously stated we condemn any and all acts of violence or terror against any child, whether Palestinian or Israeli. We call on the occupying Power to do the same.
Madam Chair,
As a State under the longest military occupation known in contemporary history, the State of Palestine aspires to protect the rights of Palestinian children to the extent possible within the confines and restraints of occupation. In this regard, this year the State of Palestine proudly became a State Party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. We are fully committed to respecting and upholding these legal instruments and consider our accession to these treaties as a significant step for Palestine as we work hard to make progressive strides as a member of the international community so as to afford our children the utmost protection under international law.
Madam Chair,
In all the sadness and devastation Palestinian children are exposed to we would like to pay tribute and express our gratitude to all those who put their own lives in danger while ensuring the safety and well-being of the Palestinian children and their families under Israeli occupation. We would like to take a moment to salute all the UN agencies working on the ground in Gaza, especially UNRWA, for their hard work, dedication and commitment to the children of Palestine. They have a near impossible job to do following the devastation by Israel this past summer and the crisis and instability affecting all Palestinian children living there. We express our gratitude to them for continuing to bring some semblance of normalcy to our children and providing them with much needed assistance during these difficult times.
Madam Chair,
It is high time that the world steps up and unequivocally calls on Israel, the occupying Power, to end all of its violations of international law, humanitarian law and human rights law. Now, more than ever, Palestinian children need the international community to provide the necessary assistance and protection. First and foremost, the illegal Israeli occupation must end as it is the direct and proximate cause of the issues that are ultimately causing our children to suffer and which deprive our children of their basic human rights. The culture of impunity, which Israel has grown so accustomed to, must cease. Perhaps then, Israel, the occupying Power, will find the determination necessary to end its nearly five decade occupation and all of its illegal policies and practices emanating from its occupation. The international community must not spare any effort to safeguard our children so that they can finally live in peace, dignity, freedom and security free from occupation and oppression in their independent State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
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