UN: “Israel” Must Be Held Accounted for Killing 78 Palestinian Children in 2021

By Staff, Agencies 

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Monday reported that the “Israeli” occupation forces killed 78 Palestinian children, maimed another 982, and detained 637 in 2021.

In the annual “Children and Armed Conflict” report, Guterres warned that “Should the situation repeat itself in 2022, without meaningful improvement, ‘Israel’ should be listed.”

The UN chief further underlined that he was “shocked by the killing and injuring of Palestinian children by ‘Israeli’ forces in airstrikes on densely populated areas, through the use of live ammunition, and at the continued lack of accountability for these violations.”

In parallel, he reiterated his call for “the ‘Israeli’ forces to exercise maximum restraint in order to protect lives and to put in place preventive measures, and to review and strengthen their procedures to end and prevent any excessive use of force against children”.

In an unprecedented warning, Guterres called on the apartheid entity “to investigate every case in which live ammunition was used,” as he acknowledged for the first time that “there is a systematic lack of accountability for ‘Israeli’ violations against Palestinian children.”

The report also highlighted the issue of the Palestinian children behind “Israeli” bars, where Guterres stressed “the need for ‘Israel’ to adhere to international standards regarding the detention of children, and to end administrative detention, ill-treatment and violence”.

In his report, the Secretary-General expressed his concern over “the increasing ‘Israeli’ attacks on schools and educational institutions that serve children,” stressing the need to provide the necessary humanitarian and health assistance to children away from “Israeli” obstacles.

The report added that at least 2,425 girls and 13,663 boys were victims of verified violations which included abductions, sexual violence, school, and hospital attacks, and denial of aid during conflicts during the last year.