tim

When a child is a vic

r
wa
use
ca
be
is
it
of war
ter
is a man-made disas
uence
seq
con
a
as
ed
perpetrat
The
of deliberate decisions.
540
UN found that at least
re
Palestinian children we
s
ck
ta
at
li
ae
Isr
by
killed
war.
during the 2015 Gaza
aged
The innocent children
d 17
between one week an
%
years, with almost 70
s old.
younger than 12 year

Israeli
Video testimony points to
ns
inia
lest
soldiers using Pa
ing
dur
s
as human shield
last summers war. IOF
d
soldiers stripped, beat, an
e
Th
n.
me
ng
interrogated 7 you
in
ced
pla
ch
men were then ea
cing
front of open windows fa
iers
sold
eli
the street. Isra
onto
placed their rifle barrels
d
fire
d
an
ers
the mens should
t
nex
the
for
out the windows
rs.
8 hou

DEBUNKED: Statement by Ambassador Roet to

United Nations Security Council meeting on Children
& Armed Conflict, 18 June 2015
Mr. President,
The girls and boys of today represent the hope for a better
tomorrow. When a child is a victim of war, his worldhis family, his community have lost their most precious
possession- their hope for a brighter future.
The loss of any child is an incomparable tragedy. The
deliberate infliction of harm on children is an inhuman
crime. Protecting these children is our highest obligation.
According to the Jewish tradition, whoever saves one life
it is as if he has saved the entire world. 70 years after the
establishment of this institution, there are far too many
lives we fail to save. The painful fact is that children all
over the world are suffering from unprecedented cruelty
and inhumanity.
In Nigeria, Boko Haram has already abducted 1000
children, many of whom were placed on the frontlines to
act as human shields.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, civilians, including
children, are being beheaded, mutilated, and raped.
In Yemen, Saudi Arabias massive and indiscriminate
airstrikes have hit hospitals and schools, and killed
hundreds of civilians, including many children. The
Houthis are recruiting boys as young as 14 to use as child
soldiers, arming them with Kalashnikovs, and sending
them to the front lines.
In Iraq, ISIS is forcing young girls to call their parents to
detail being gang-raped by dozens of men.
In Syria, ISIS forces abducted and tortured Kurdish
children, and forced them to watch footage of ISIS
beheadings and attacks.

Israeli forces deliberately

inflict daily harm on
Palestinian children. Take
the
case of 16-year-old Diy aa
,
who spent 15 days in solitar
y
confinement. Diy aa accou
nts
his brutal beatings: One
of
the jailers used to beat me
whenever I knocked on the
door to ask for something
...
He would come to the cell
with
another jailer, tie my ha
nds
and feet, and kick me ha
rd
while I was on the floor,
and
punch me on my stomach
and head without any
mercy. This is just one of
the countless horrors end
ured
by Palestinian children und
er
illegal Israeli occupation.

Israel has shattered

the dreams of countless
Palestinians, with generations
of childrens hopes, dreams
and futures broken throughout
its illegal occupation. In
testimony to the Commission of
Inquiry on Gaza, one father
shared his experience: I am
52 years old and I have lost
everything I cared for. In only
a few minutes, they killed
everyone and everything that
was dear to me. They killed
my dream, and my daughters
dream who wanted to be a
doctor.

Whenwe look at the world today through the eyes

of children, we see a terrifying picture. Too many
dreams are being shattered, too many hopes are being
extinguished, and too many are robbed of their childhood
by unimaginable brutality.
It must stop. This Council must act to end these atrocities
against children. Todays resolution, that Israel cosponsored, is a positive step forward.

Mr. President,
Last week, the Secretary General published his annual
report on children and armed conflict. With all the
regimes, with all the organizations that intentionally and
strategically target children all around the world, it is
simply absurd that this report disproportionately focuses
on Israel.
The report has 17 paragraphs on Syria, 9 on Yemen, 8 on
Iraq, 6 on Libya and no less than 32 paragraphs on Israel.
Yes, you heard right, twice as much space was dedicated
to Israel as to Syria, where approximately a quarter of a
million people have been killed, including, according to
the New York Times, over 3500 children just this year,
3500, while the report misleads by inexplicably putting
the number at 368.
The reason for this skewed presentation is evident.
Instead of being balanced, neutral, and focused on facts,
the reports discussion of Israel is politicized, stained with
interests, and distorts reality.
And what about Hamas?
A terror organization which, as we speak, runs military
summer camps for elementary school children.

The report from the Israeli

Ministry of Foreign Affa
irs,
The 2014 Gaza Conflict:
Factual and Legal Aspec
ts
distorts reality and fails
to
recognize the fundamenta
l
context of this crisis and
all previous crises the
inhumane, illegal Israeli
occupation. While number
s
vary, the scale of civilian
deaths reported significa
ntly
understates the number of
casualties compared to oth
er
credible reports:
Israeli MFA report: 36%
Report of the UN Special
Rapporteur: 69.2%
Physicians for Human Rig
hts
Israel: at least 70%

Surely a report about the use of children in warfare would

discuss them in detail.

Palestinian Centre for Hum

an
Rights: 75.7%

Well, read through the report and try to count how many

Al Mezan Centre for Hum

an
Rights: 76.8%

times the name Hamas even appears - Finding Hamas in

this report is harder than finding a needle in a haystack.
In reality, Hamas and other terrorist organizations
launched approximately 4,000 rockets and mortars during
last summers conflict. These missiles were deliberately
directed at Israels civilian population. In the words of
HamasSpokesman Fawzi Barhoum,our rockets are
aimed at the Hebrews, the murderers, the Israelis, the
criminalsour missiles accurately target the homes of
the Israelis and the Zionists.
The evidence and testimonies
from Israels soldiers tell a
different story. In testimony
to Israeli NGO Breaking the
Silence, an IDF soldier stated:
The briefing on rules of
engagement was [to open
fire at]... anyone you spot
that you can be positive is
not the IDF. Any person you
see. From the very start
they told us, Shoot to kill.

Actions by Israeli leaders

g
indicate otherwise. Durin
r
iste
Min
me
Pri
t,
flic
the con
e
stic
Ju
now
s
hu
Netanya
red
Minister Ayelet Shaked sha
Uri
ting
quo
t
pos
ook
a Faceb
s]
Elitzur: They [Palestinian
ts,
tan
ba
com
my
ene
are all
all
and their blood shall be on
o
als
s
thi
Now
..
ds.
their hea
includes the mothers of the
to
martyrs, who send them
.
ses
kis
d
an
rs
we
flo
h
hell wit
s,
They should follow their son
t.
nothing would be more jus
the
uld
sho
as
go,
uld
They sho
they
physical homes in which
ise,
raised the snakes. Otherw
more little snakes will be
raised there. As evidenced
ence
by the COI, Israels persist
ks
with its devastating attac
ds
on Palestinian neighborhoo
n
despite the mounting civilia
d
casualties belies this claime
regret.

Over 15,000 rockets and mortars have been fired into

Israel from Gaza since 2001. There is a generation of
children in Israel who live under a daily threat of Hamas
rockets and mortars.

The State of Palestine

condemns violations of
international law by any
party. The recent report of
the Human Rights Council
Commission of Inquiry
(COI) independently reveals
the facts and promotes
accountability for the
crimes perpetrated in this
conflict.

Not only did Hamas deliberately target Israeli civilians

and children, it also demonstrates complete disregard for
the lives of Palestinian children.
While Israel tried to save Palestinian lives by warning
them to leave combat areas, Hamas threatened their lives
if they did.
While Israel takes every precaution to avoid harm to noncombatants, Hamas voids international law by launching
rockets from schools, hospitals, mosques, and other places
children would usually be safe.
The military use of schools by Hamas is dreadful. As
todays resolution states, such use is in contravention of
applicable international law.
Mr. President,
Omitted from the report was one clear fact-This was not
a war that Israel wanted.Israel deeply regrets the harm
caused to the Palestinian civilian population during
Operation Protective Edge.
This operation was in response to over 450 rockets and
mortars launched from the Gaza Strip, including more

Israel damaged or destroyed

543 schools in the State
of Palestine last year, the
most in the world. While
Israels attacks in Gaza
are well-known, the daily
terror against Palestinian
students in the West Bank,
including East Jerusalem,
receives less attention. Israeli
forces persistently attack
schools and terrify students
with sound bombs, teargas, military raids, stungrenades, rubber bullets
and live ammunition. Israeli
settlers likewise constantly
harass, intimidate, attack
and terrorize Palestinian
children. Incidents involving
school children and schools
almost tripled from 2013 to
2014, affecting nearly 25,000
Palestinian children.

Testimony from Israeli

soldiers illustrates that
the IOF abused ceasefires.
There was a humanitarian
ceasefire that went into
effect at 6:00 AM. I
remember they told us at 5:15
AM, Look, were going to put
on a show. It was amazing,
the air forces precision. The
first shell struck at exactly
quarter past five on the dot,
and the last one struck at
5:59 AM and 59 seconds,
exactly. It was amazing.

Israels 8 year blockade has

severely devastated Gaza.
The blockade takes a heavy
toll on Gazas surviving
families by drastically
limiting their access to
health services, construction
materials, food, agricultural
land, fishing, electricity and
employment. Whether slowly
by blockade or swiftly by
bomb, Israel is destroying the
people of Gaza.

than 60 in just one day, while Israel did not react.

Israel took all measures to de-escalate the conflict by
accepting ceasefire after ceasefire, while Hamas rejected
all attempts. In a war forced on Israel by Hamas, Israel
took unprecedented precautions to avoid the loss of life
of innocents civilians, going beyond what is required by
international law and what is done by any other army in
the world.

The COI highlights the

problems with Israels
warnings. These warnings
were often used in a context
where people fleeing were
unable to identify a safe
place to go owing to the
The IDF used leaflets, phone calls and text messages to unpredictability
of many
warn the civilian population to evacuate rocket launch attacks... Most importantly,
ring that anyone
sites. It aborted or suspended operations against terror reminfer
aining in an area that
targets when it became apparent that civilians would be has been the object of a
warning is an enemy or a
harmed.
person engaging in terrorist
activity, or issuing instruction
And even while attacked by the ruling authority in Gaza, to that effect, contributes
to creating an environment
Israel kept the flow of humanitarian assistance to the cond
ucive to attacks against
people of Gaza.
civilians.

Mr. President,
I ask myself,
Why are all of these clear and crucial facts absent from
the report of the Special Representative?
Is it possible that they simply failed to notice?
Unfortunately, the failure of this report goes far deeper
than mere oversight.
The drafting of the report was marked at every level
by widespread, systematic and institutionalized biased
conduct against Israel.
From the outset, the regional Working Group conveniently
forgot to inform Israel of the writing of the report, nor
did they deem it necessary to seek input from the Israeli
authorities.
Time after time Israel tried to provide official evidence and
facts to the Working Group, but we were flatly refused.

Yet, NGOs with a publicly available record of notorious

anti-Israel activity were welcomed with open arms as an
integral part of the working group.
Furthermore, the Special Representatives office left no
real opportunity for Israels extensive reservations to even
be considered, thus making it evident that the SRSGs
offices engagement with Israel was a mere formality for
the sake of checking the box. Such practices contradict
relevant Security Council resolutions and guidelines to
involve Governments as an integral part throughout the
process.
We are extremely troubled by the fact that internal sensitive
information, which was supposed to be only known to
the SRSGs office and to UN Officials, was leaked to the
press in an intentional attempt to pressure and dictate the
final outcome to include Israel in the reports annex. Have
you ever heard anywhere a consideration of the SRSG in
regards to the listing or not listing of countries, except
this time?
Such unauthorized and irresponsible leaks should not be
tolerated. They serve only to undermine the credibility of
the report, the SRSGs office and the entire UN system.
This conduct should be investigated.
Mr. President,
No organization is perfect, and no procedure is immune
to criticism. Raising concerns with regard to practices
and procedures of the office of the Special Representative
of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
should not be automatically perceived as mere national
interest and are essential for the protection of children.
I must express deep concern about the reports statement
that the question of intent when determining responsibility
will be not be a crucial consideration. The Laws of Armed
Conflict provide one of the critical barriers preventing war
from descending into unrestrained barbarism. Ignoring
intention would be contrary to existing international law

The decision by the

Secretary-General not to
list Israel undermines the
credibility of the report. Israel
persistently commits the
grave violations that should
prompt listing: killing and
maiming children, attacking
schools and hospitals, and
preventing humanitarian
access. This glaring omission
and failure to include Israel
weakens protection of
children not only in occupied
Palestine, but around the
world.

In flagrant violation of
international law, Israel has
countlessly repeated its crimes
against the Palestinian people
and collectively punished them
during its 48 years of illegal
occupation. The failure to hold
Israel, the occupying Power,
accountable has undoubtedly
fostered this brazen impunity,
allowing those perpetrating
crimes against children to
h
remain free and to repeat suc
crimes without consequence.
This impunity must end.

and plays into the hands of those who intentionally target

and use civilians in combat,and leave children more
vulnerable.
Without attention to intention, those who are responsible
for harming children will remain free to repeat their
crimes, and we will fail in our sacred obligation to the
children of the world.
Mr. President,
The Bible tells us that all children are a gift of God. We
have an obligation to do all we can to protect the lives of
the most vulnerable among us, no matter who they are or
where they are from.
Israels concern for the life and well-being of children
knows no color, no ethnicity, no nationality nor faith, and
it knows no borders.

only
Israel claims to be the
le
dd
Mi
the
in
cy
democra
ows
sh
ur
vio
ha
be
East, yet its
holding
otherwise. Rather than
and
up the rights, values,
th
wi
ed
iat
soc
as
freedoms
lly
uta
br
l
ae
Isr
,
democracy
ople
pe
ian
tin
les
Pa
oppresses the
policy,
as a matter of state
ssive,
using the most aggre
e means
criminal and inhuman
ion of
and methods in violat
hts law
rig
n
ma
hu
international
.
law
ian
ar
nit
ma
and hu
.

Israels commitment to protection of children is absolute.

We will remain committed to safeguard the lives of all
children in accordance with our democratic values, our
moral conscience, and our belief in sanctity of human life.
Thank you.

Israel systematically
discriminates against
Palestinians in a manner
reminiscent of apartheid. Israel
issues identification cards to
Palestinians that determine
their ability to move and work.
Palestinians are systematically
denied their human rights
due solely to their nationality,
ethnicity and religion. Israeli
laws privilege Jews over nonJews, including a separate,
discriminatory system of
privilege for the Israeli settlers
illegally transferred to Occupied
Palestine.