Violations Bulletin
December 2012
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Two boys (14 and 17) fired upon and detained whilst fishing off the coast of Gaza.
Family home, mother and three children (4, 2, and 7 months) attacked near Nablus by Israeli settlers throwing stones.
Updated Urgent Appeal for the Children of the Sea in Gaza (UA Armed Israeli settlers walking near Yanun, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. - 3/12)
Updated Urgent Appeal for the 2012 – Overview Forcible Transfer of Children (UA – 2/12) In 2012, 39 children were killed by Israeli recognition of Palestine as a UN non- air strikes on Gaza, 33 of which occurred Updated Urgent Appeal for the member state, Israel announced the during the Israeli offensive Operation Pillar Solitary Confinement (UA - planned expansion of settlements in a of Defence, which started on 14 1/12) contentious area of East Jerusalem November 2012. During this offensive and an additional 5,500 new housing more than 400 children were injured, two units in Bethlehem. IN THE NEWS were killed by Palestinian rockets falling short of their intended targets, and one In February, two boys from Beit Ummar were used as human shields and child was killed whilst participating in UNICEF - In Gaza, children injured whilst being arrested by Israeli hostilities. returning to school are scarred soldiers. The soldiers used the boys to by violence During 2012, DCI documented 42 cases of shield themselves from villagers that
settler violence against children in the were throwing stones. AFP - Children pay high price Occupied Palestinian Territory. Israeli for Gaza war authorities have consistently failed to On 16 August 2012, two incidents
prevent settler attacks against resulted in Israeli youths injuring
The Guardian – Settlements Palestinians or to take adequate Palestinian children: an attempted
expansion approval enforcement measures against settlers for lynching occurred in West Jerusalem,
their actions. and a Molotov cocktail was thrown at The Telegraph – US, Israeli a car in the West Bank. The children settlements are a threat to In 2012, a total of nine children were who threw the Molotov cocktail have
peace detained whilst fishing in the new fishing since been released. These cases
limit set by Israeli authorities, two of which highlight how Israeli authorities apply The Guardian – Former Israeli (14 and 17) occurred in December. different legal systems based on race soldiers describe mistreatment In December 2012, following the or nationality. of Palestinian children
B’Tselem – Israeli settler from Number of Palestinian children killed as a result of Israeli military and settler presence in the OPT Nokdim indicted for shooting a 13-year-old Palestinian in 2007. 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 TOTAL
94 98 192 130 162 52 124 50 112 315 8 15 43 1,395
Page 1 DCI-Palestine ● Violations Bulletin, Issue 27 ● December 2012 Urgent Appeals Case summary
UA 3/12 – Children of the Sea Name: Mohammad Q.
UA 3/11 – Settler Violence Date of incident: 26 December 2012 Location: Yatta, Hebron UA 2/12 – Forcible transfer Age: 12 UA 1/12 – Solitary confinement Nature of incident: Injury, Soldier violence UA 6/11 – Children of Beit Ummar On 26 December 2012, a 12-year-old boy from Yatta, Hebron, was injured when he was hit in the head by a teargas canister fired by an UA 4/11 – Children of Azzun Israeli soldier.
Twelve-year-old Mohammad lives in Yatta and studies at Yatta Basic School for Voices from the Occupation Boys. Naser S. – On 13 December 2012, a 16-year-old boy from At around 3:00 p.m., Mohammad heard people running Hebron was struck in the in front of his house because Israeli soldiers had entered abdomen by a bullet fired by the village. Mohammad decided to go out and join an Israeli soldier during clashes them and recalls that soldiers were heading towards the with protesters in Hebron. mosque to arrest a village resident, about 100 metres
Raghad A. – On 13 December northwest of his house. Mohammad saw 10 military jeeps 2012, a 14-year-old boy from and tens of soldiers deployed in the area. Youths were Tel Rumeida, Hebron, is injured throwing stones at them. by stones thrown by settlers on his walk home from school. “I noticed one of the soldiers was on a rooftop of one of
the houses where the jeeps were parked. I felt really
Mohammad S. – On December scared because he was looking at me. I ran off 2012, a 15-year-old boy from immediately. I ran for about three metres and then was North Gaza, was struck in the hit by a teargas canister on the left side of my head,” leg by a bullet fired by an Israeli soldier while working on Mohammad recalls. his uncle’s land near the Israeli border . Mohammad fell to the ground and was assisted by a young man who helped him move and sit up against a wall where he could not be spotted by the More soldiers. “I was losing my balance and was really scared,” he adds.
After having been told that the soldiers were not coming after him,
Media Archive Mohammad went back home. His mother, worried about his condition and the lump on his head, called Mohammad’s father so that he could bring him to BBC documentary – Ultra the hospital. Brought in the neighbour’s car, Mohammad arrived at Abu Hasan Zionists (settlers) Qasem Hospital in Yatta around an hour later. There doctors transferred him by The Independent – Jewish taxi to Aliya Hospital where Mohammad was given first aid treatment and x- settlers are terrorising rays were taken. About one and a half hours later he was transferred to Al Palestinians, says Israeli General Mezan Hospital in Hebron. Mohammad was admitted to the intensive care unit The Guardian video – Gaza and discharged three days later. Fishermen The Guardian – Jewish settler The day after he was released from the hospital, Mohammad had spasms and attacks on Palestinians listed as was taken back to Aliya Hospital where he spent two days and received 'terrorist incidents' by US further treatment. Al Jazeera – Palestinian child prisoners abused “I am home now but still on medication. I could not take my final exams The Guardian – Former Israeli because of my injury, and my father said he would talk to my teachers about soldiers disclose routine it,” says Mohammad. mistreatment of Palestinian Children 14 January 2013 More
Page 2 DCI-Palestine ● Violations Bulletin, Issue 27 ● December 2012
For information on child rights violations during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza read DCI and Al Mezan’s report: Bearing the Brunt Again
*** For information on settler violence against Palestinian children read DCI-Palestine’s latest report: Under Attack: Settler Violence against Palestinian Children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
*** For information on Palestinian Child Prisoners read DCI’s latest Detention Bulletin, or the report: Palestinian Child Prisoners, The systematic and institutionalised ill- treatment and torture of Palestinian children by Israeli authorities
For information on Palestinian Child In the spotlight
Prisoners read: Bound, Blindfolded and Convicted: Children held in Offensive in Gaza military detention Following the 14 November 2012 Israeli airstrike that killed Ahmed Jabari, a Hamas leader in Gaza, violence erupted between Palestinians and Israeli forces. According to the UN, during the eight days of violence from 14–21 November 2012, 158 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed. DCI has confirmed that, during the eight days, 33 children were killed by Israeli
attacks in Gaza. Additionally, two Palestinian children were killed when rockets fired by Palestinian fighters fell short of their intended targets, and For information on child recruitment one other child was killed whilst engaged in hostilities. Of the 1,200 read: Recruitment and Use of Palestinians injured, more than 400 were children. In total, 36 children were Palestinian Children in Armed Conflict killed during the November offensive; 23 percent of all fatalities. The youngest, nine-month-old Hanin, was killed by an Israeli airstrike while sleeping in her parents’ bedroom.
It should be noted that children were not immune from violence prior to or following the latest Israeli offensive targeting Gaza. In 2012, DCI
documented 40 child fatalities resulting from Israeli military activity in the
Gaza Strip.
Psychological impact of offensive in Gaza For information on the situation of children in East Jerusalem read: Voices from East Jerusalem: The As UNICEF reports, children of Gaza have been scarred by the violence of Situation facing Palestinian Children. these eight days. Results from this study show that children living in all parts of Gaza have been affected. Many have witnessed shelling and airstrikes that damaged or destroyed their homes and neighbourhoods. Many children also encountered horrific scenes involving dead and dismembered bodies and graphic pictures on television. Many children witnessed or were affected by the killing of people close to them. Eighty percent of the children that lived through Operation Pillar of Defence now fear loud sounds. The majority of them also fear that they could be killed
when, alone at home or whilst going out of the house. For information on settler violence against Palestinian children read: Most children report feeling insecure, dazed or stunned, angry, excessive Under Attack: Settler Violence against Palestinian Children in the nervousness, mental strain and having difficulty concentrating. Regarding Occupied Palestinian Territory symptomatic/physical symptoms, a majority of children reported clinging to and sleeping with their parents, having sleep disturbances, and a change in their appetite. Additionally, children have reported crying more than before the attacks, as well as aches and feeling ill. The highest levels of physical symptoms were found among those children whose homes were destroyed or damaged.
As a result, children of Gaza cannot concentrate at school (at least 136
Lawyers and fieldworkers for DCI- schools and kindergartens were damaged). In some schools, the Palestine collect sworn affidavits from classroom walls are missing, glass is scattered throughout the schoolyards, victims and/or eye witnesses of human and craters are now a part of the surroundings. Children are scared of not rights violations against Palestinian being safe when inside and of walking in the streets. Some reported that children. These affidavits are reviewed they would not go to the bathroom alone because they feared another by trained staff to determine appropriate follow up action. airstrike. Nourhan jumps at the sound each time a car passes by: “It sounds Additional case summaries are like a missile is falling nearby.” available on request. For further information contact us through our website: www.dci-palestine.org
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