Lord Warner highlights Palestine's forgotten children

Having recently returned from a MAP-CAABU delegation to the West Bank in April, Lord Norman Warner has written for openDemocracy today to highlight Palestine's forgotten children. Lord Warner's efforts to bring to light the context within which Palestinian children are living also comes on the same day that the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, releases a new report on Children and armed conflict.

In a wide-ranging report, the Secretary General provides an overview of an increasingly violent context where accountability is absent, the use of punitive measures against children is increasing and the work of medical professionals to treat the wounded is being constantly obstructed by the Israeli military. In relation to instances where alleged violations in Gaza have been raised with Israeli mechanisms, the Secretary General writes:

"Of the 190 cases of alleged violations of international humanitarian law during the hostilities in Gaza in 2014 referred to the Israeli Defense Forces Fact-Finding Assessments Mechanism, the Israeli Military Advocate General has indicted three soldiers for looting and theft. Investigations into numerous incidents, including the killing of four children on a beach in Gaza City on 16 July 2014, were closed without criminal or disciplinary proceedings." A/70/836 - S/2016/360

Given such evidence of impunity, it is unsurprising that Lord Warner felt compelled to raise these issues on his return to the UK. His article on openDemocracy can be read in full below or at: https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/lord-norman-warner/palestine-s-forgotten-children

Featured image: Next year will mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration and the 50th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. Britain has a historic responsibility to challenge the Israeli government’s conduct in the West Bank and Gaza.