Israel killed 37 Palestinian children since start of year, says Defense for Children International

An international and independent child rights organization says Israeli military forces have killed more than three dozen Palestinian children during separate incursions in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip since the beginning of 2023.

Ayed Abu Qutaish, director of the Accountability Program at Defense for Children International, said on Saturday that Israeli troops have killed 31 children in the West Bank and six others in Gaza this year.

He told the official Voice of Palestine radio station that Israeli authorities are holding 160 children behind bars, including 21 kept in administrative detention without charge or trial and based on so-called secret evidence.

Abu Qutaish said the killing and arrest of Palestinian children have escalated in an unprecedented manner, adding that the international community does not provide protection for Palestinian children and does not hold the regime to account for its crimes.

Israeli forces kill Palestinian teenager at point-blank as raids continue in West Bank

Israeli military forces have reportedly killed a Palestinian teenager at point-blank during an incursion into a refugee camp in the northwestern part of the occupied West Bank.

A 15-year-old Palestinian boy was killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday evening.

The Palestinian Health Ministry named the victim as Mohammad Farid al-Za'areer, who was killed near the illegal Israeli settlement of Shim’a close to the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil.

According to local Palestinian sources, Za'areer was one of the top students in his class and had just finished the 9th grade.

The Israeli military claimed that Za'areer looked suspicious, as they passed a bus station and decided to approach him for interrogation. Za'areer then allegedly pulled out a knife and the Israeli soldiers shot and killed him.

Israeli forces launch raids on various cities of the West Bank almost on a daily basis under the pretext of detaining what it calls “wanted” Palestinians. The raids usually lead to violent confrontations with residents.

Over the past months, Israel has ramped up attacks on Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories. As a result of these attacks, dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others have been arrested.

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed this year in the occupied Palestinian territories and Gaza. The majority of these fatalities have been recorded in the West Bank.

Hamas, Islamic Jihad condemn Israeli killing of Palestinian teen in West Bank

Mahmoud Abu Sa’an was shot in the head at point-blank range at dawn on Friday.

At least 26 people have been killed in Palestinian retaliatory attacks against Israeli settlers during that time.

Those figures indicate that 2023 is already the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since the United Nations began keeping track of fatalities in 2005.

Previously, 2022 had been the deadliest year with 150 Palestinians killed, of whom 33 were minors, according to the United Nations.

The rising number of fatalities last year prompted UN experts to condemn the treatment of Palestinians, including attacks on their homes and destruction of their property.

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