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Rabat – The United Nations has decided to include Israel in its list of countries accused of committing abuses against children in armed conflict. The decision follows the Israeli military’s relentless assault on the Gaza Strip, resulting in the tragic deaths of over 15,500 Palestinian children.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan said yesterday on X, formerly Twitter, that he had “received the official notification about the Secretary-General’s decision to put the IDF on the ‘blacklist’ of countries and organizations that harm children.”
Erdan denounced the decision, which he labeled “outrageous and shameful,” asserting that Israel’s army upholds the highest moral standards.
“The only one being blacklisted is the Secretary-General who incentivizes and encourages terrorism and is motivated by hatred towards Israel,” he added
The annual report on Children in Armed Conflict, compiled by the UN, highlights violations committed against children, including killings, maiming, sexual violence, and attacks on schools and hospitals.
The report is set to be presented to the UN Security Council on June 14 and then officially published a few days later.
The UN will also add Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to the blacklist, the New York Times reported.
UNSG Antonio Guterres’s recent decision reflects mounting pressure in the wake of the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, especially since he had faced criticism in the past for not including Israel in the list.
Echoing Erdan’s statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X that the “UN put itself today on history’s black list when it adopted the absurd claims of Hamas.”
Despite killing nearly 37,000 Palestinian civilians since October 7, Netanyahu said that “the IDF is the most moral military in the world and no ‘flat earth’ decision by the UN secretary general can change that.”
Meanwhile, Senior Palestinian official Riad Malki welcomed the UN’s action, stating that it is long overdue, particularly in light of the ongoing war on Gaza.
“Now, faced with the catastrophe in Gaza that the world sees with its naked eyes with the genocide that specifically targets children and women, the UN secretary general no longer has excuses not to place Israel on the blacklist,” Al Jazeera quoted Malki as saying.
In addition, the Palestinian Authority president’s spokesperson said on Friday that the decision is “a step closer to holding Israel accountable for its crimes.”
Amnesty International chief Agnes Callamard also welcomed the UN’s decision, saying that rights groups “have long been documenting” Israeli violations against children.
“It should not have taken 15,000 children killed in Gaza for Israel to be on this shameful list,” Callamard added.
