UNICEF warns of rising violence against Palestinian children in West Bank

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that unprecedented violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank is increasingly undermining the safety and wellbeing of Palestinian children and young people.

“What is unfolding is not only an escalation in violence against Palestinian children; it is the steady dismantling of the conditions children need to survive and grow,” UNICEF spokesman James Elder said following a visit to the West Bank, dpa reports.

Elder described cases of severe harm, including an incident in which a woman’s arms were broken when she tried to shield her four-month-old baby from an attacking settler. Her eight-year-old son, Ezzaldin, was struck with a wooden club and hospitalized with head injuries, according to UNICEF.

He said homes, schools, and water infrastructure have been destroyed in settler attacks, while increasing barriers are restricting children’s access to essential services.

“Schools, which should be places of safety and stability, are increasingly becoming sites of fear,” Elder said. “Attacks on schools and the denial of children’s access to education are grave violations against children with long-term consequences for their safety, wellbeing, and future.”

According to Elder, 2,500 Palestinians have been displaced since the beginning of the year, including 1,100 children.

Data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicates that around 170 people were injured by settlers in March alone, the highest monthly figure since violence began in 2006.

The report also states that 347 minors are currently being held in Israeli custody, the highest number in eight years.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to significantly expand settlement construction in the West Bank. The United Nations and the International Court of Justice say the policy violates international law, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring its own population into occupied territory.

By Vafa Guliyeva