Israel murdered 35 Palestinian children in 2016

The Defense for Children International (DCI) - Palestine Branch said that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed 35 Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the occupied al-Quds ('Jerusalem') in 2016.

Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program Director at the Palestine section of the DCI, told the Quds Press news agency that 2016 recorded the highest number of murders committed by the IOF against Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds ('Jerusalem') in 12 years, pointing out that the number of children killed in 2015 in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Quds had reached 26.

Abu Eqtaish said that 2016 witnessed continuous Israeli violations of the Palestinian children's rights, especially their right to live, which caused the murder of 35 children, 32 of whom are from the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, and 3 from the Gaza Strip.

He added that Israel grants immunity to the soldiers who commit these crimes in absolute disregard for the basic rights of children. He affirmed that the Israeli judiciary system is also involved in this by announcing the acquittal of the Israeli police officers and troopers who commit such crimes although there is evidence that the children were directly killed without posing any kind of danger to the Israeli troopers.

More crimes are thus encouraged, he added. Abu Eqtaish said that in some cases the soldiers are charged with "unintentional murder" or "failure to follow the required conditions" in an attempt to ease the gravity of the crimes.

He pointed to the execution of the child Nadeem Nawwara whose killer was charged with an accidental murder despite the presence of evidence about the deliberate crime.

The DCI said in a statement that the Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) are still holding the bodies of three children.

The last murder case reported in 2016 was against Ahmad al-Rimawi, 17, who was killed by the IOF with live bullets on 18th December during confrontations in Beit Rima village to the northwest of Ramallah province.