A United Nations human rights expert urged on Thursday the international community to step up efforts to protect Palestinians children living in the West Bank, whom he claimed are subject to violence and arrest at the hands of Israeli authorities.
In a statement to the UN General Assembly, Richard Falk, a former New York University professor, cited particular cases in which Palestinian children in the West Bank were arrested or subjected to violence.
The UN human rights rapporteur for the Palestinian territories called on Israel to adopt international guidelines for the protection of Palestinian children living under Israeli occupation.
“Prolonged occupation deforms the development of children through pervasive deprivations affecting health, education and overall security,” Falk said in his statement.
He said the number of Palestinian children arrested and prosecuted by Israeli authorities has risen since 2007; however, he did not give a number to support this claim. He said some of those children, who were arrested for allegedly throwing stones at the settlers, were subject to interrogation and abuse.
Falk said 178 Palestinians suffered injuries as a result of violence from Israeli settlers so far in 2011, compared to 176 cases in 2010. The violence involved stone throwing, assaults and shooting by settlers.
“There are almost daily accounts of settler vandalism against Palestinian agricultural land and villages,” he said. Falk added that several incidents were videotaped by individuals working for B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization.
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