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Rabat – Palestine’s occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has seen a drastic and alarming increase in violence against Palestinian children since October 2023, according to a recent report by UNICEF.
On average, one Palestinian child has been killed every two days during this period as a result of brutal aggression by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in the region. The number represents a nearly three-and-a-half-fold increase from the previous nine months.
Published on Monday, the report detailed that a total of 143 Palestinian children have died in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since October last year, a spike of nearly 250% compared to the 41 children killed in the preceding nine months.
In addition, over 440 Palestinian children have been injured with Israeli live ammunition during this time, the report revealed. The report did not only focus on the impact of Israel’s war on Palestinian children, but added that two Israeli children have been killed in the West Bank in “conflict-related violence” during the same period.
The casualties have been reported across 10 out of 11 governorates in the West Bank, with more than half occurring in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nablus. “These areas have seen an increase in large and militarized law enforcement operations over the past two years, indicating a shift in intensity and scope,” the report said.
Read also: Israeli Settler Violence Escalates in West Bank with Raid on Al Mughayyir Village
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell expressed grave concern over the escalating violence and its severe impact on children. “For years now, children living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have been exposed to horrific violence,” she said.
Russel added that the situation has worsened in light of the “escalation of hostilities inside Gaza.” She added, “We are seeing frequent allegations of Palestinian children being detained on their way home from school, or shot while walking on the streets. The violence needs to stop now.”
Prior to October 7, the West Bank had already been experiencing the highest levels of violence in 20 years, with 41 Palestinian children killed in the first nine months of last year.
Reporting from Ramallah, Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh spoke about the ongoing violence in the West Bank, particularly the extended raid in Tulkarem.
“The raid in Tulkarem has been going on for more than 12 hours now. The communication has been disrupted and electricity cut off to the refugee camp,” Odeh reported today. “We know there was a drone strike; this is the latest in 28 drone attacks that the Israeli army has carried out in the occupied West Bank in the past nine months.”
According to Odeh, Israel’s drone strikes have resulted in the deaths of 77 Palestinians, including 14 children. In the latest attack in Tulkarem, a woman was killed, and her body was delivered to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. The IOF reported the deaths of two fighters, though local sources report that up to five people were killed.
Further south, in Sa’ir and ash-Shuyukh, two Palestinians were killed in separate raids, as confirmed by the Palestinian Health Ministry.
