Amnesty International - Library - Middle East: Israel = and the Occupied Territories and the Palestinian Authority: Killing the = future: Children in the line of fire

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Israel/Occupied=20 Territories
Latest information on the Crisis = in Israel=20 / OT
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ISRAEL AND=20 THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES AND THE PALESTINIAN=20 AUTHORITY

KILLING THE=20 FUTURE:
Children in the line of=20 fire

Introduction
Since the = beginning of=20 the intifada, the Palestinian uprising against Israeli = occupation=20 of the West Bank and Gaza Strip which broke out in September = 2000(1),=20 Palestinian and Israeli children have been targeted in an = unprecedented=20 manner. In the period from 29 September 2000 to the end of August = 2002,=20 some 1700 Palestinians, including more than 250 children, were = killed, and=20 more than 580 Israelis, most of them civilians and including 72 = children,=20 were killed.(2)

The overwhelming majority of Palestinian = children=20 have been killed in the Occupied Territories when members of the = Israeli=20 Defence Forces (IDF) responded to demonstrations and = stone-throwing=20 incidents with excessive and disproportionate use of force, and as = a=20 result of the IDFs reckless shooting, shelling and aerial = bombardments of=20 residential areas. Palestinian children have also been killed as=20 bystanders during Israels extrajudicial execution of targeted = activists,=20 or were killed when their homes were demolished. Others died = because they=20 were denied access to medical care by the IDF. At least three = Palestinian=20 children have been killed by armed Israeli settlers in the = Occupied=20 Territories.

Israeli children have been killed in direct = and=20 indiscriminate attacks, including suicide bombings, and shootings = by=20 members of Palestinian armed groups and by Palestinian individuals = who may=20 not belong to armed groups(3), both inside Israel and in = settlements or on=20 roads leading to settlements in the Occupied = Territories.

The=20 patterns of killings described in this report show how the right = to life=20 of Palestinian and Israeli children has been repeatedly violated = as a=20 result of the systematic failure of the Israeli authorities, = Palestinian=20 armed groups, and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to comply with = the=20 obligations and safeguards set down in international human rights = and=20 humanitarian law.

This report focuses on the killing of = children,=20 the most grave and irreversible of the many abuses to which = Palestinian=20 and Israeli children have been subjected in the past two years.(4) = Over=20 the years, Amnesty International and other organizations have = documented=20 different patterns of serious and systematic violations of some of = the=20 most fundamental human rights -- including the right to life-- in = Israel=20 and the Occupied Territories.(5)

KILLINGS OF = PALESTINIAN=20 CHILDREN

The alarming pattern of killing of Palestinian = children by the IDF was established at the outset of the = intifada=20 and has continued. On the second day of the intifada, on 30 = September 2000, four children were killed by IDF fire.(6) The = following=20 day another four children aged between 12 and 17 were again killed = by=20 other security services. Within a month some 30 Palestinian = children had=20 been killed by IDF fire and by the end of the year 2000 the number = was=20 over 80.(7)

The rate at which Palestinian children were = being=20 killed decreased slightly during 2001 but increased again in 2002. = In the=20 first seven months of 2002 alone, more than 100 children were = killed by=20 IDF fire and the age of the victims was significantly lower than = in the=20 previous two years: in 2002, some 48% of the children killed were = 12 years=20 old or younger, as compared with some 35% in 2001 and about 13% in = 2000.

In the first months of the intifada, the = majority of=20 child victims were killed as a result of the unlawful and = excessive use of=20 lethal force in response to demonstrations and stone-throwing = incidents,=20 when the lives of IDF soldiers were not at risk. In 2002 the = majority were=20 those children killed when the IDF randomly opened fire, or = shelled or=20 bombarded residential neighbourhoods in Palestinian towns and = villages.=20 Most of these children were killed when there was no exchange of = fire and=20 in circumstances in which the lives of the soldiers were not at=20 risk.

Children killed in demonstrations and as a result = of=20 reckless IDF fire

During the first months of the=20 intifada children were mostly killed during stone-throwing=20 demonstrations, though in many cases they appear to have been = bystanders=20 during these demonstrations.

Sami Fathi Abu Jazzar. = On 10=20 October 2000 Amnesty International delegates witnessed the = aftermath of a=20 stone throwing demonstration in Rafah on the southern edge of the = Gaza=20 Strip. Israeli soldiers shot at a crowd of some 400 people, mostly = primary=20 schoolchildren, who were throwing stones at an Israeli military = post. Sami=20 Fathi Abu Jazzar was shot in the head; a live bullet entered his = forehead=20 above his left eyebrow, went through the skull diagonally and = exited at=20 the back of his head. He died the following day, on the eve of his = 12th=20 birthday. Six other children were injured by live fire in the same = incident. Amnesty International delegates, including an expert in = riot=20 policing, concluded that the lives of Israeli soldiers were not in = danger=20 and that their use of lethal force was unjustified, as their = position was=20 not only heavily fortified, but there were also two wire fences = between=20 the post and the stone throwers, who were some 200 metres away.=20

Muhammad Ibrahim Hajaj, Ahmed Suleiman Abu = Tayah and=20 Ibrahim Reziq Omar, all 14 years of age, were shot = dead and=20 several other children were wounded on 1 November 2000 by the IDF = in the=20 Gaza Strip, on the road between Netzarim junction and the Karni = crossing=20 into Israel, in a place which over the past two years has been a = regular=20 demonstration site for children who gather to throw stones at IDF = tanks=20 and/or at the IDF tower. Muhammad Ibrahim Hajaj was shot in the = neck and=20 Ahmed Suleiman Abu Tayah and Ibrahim Reziq Omar were shot in the = head and=20 chest. All three died immediately. Several other children were = wounded,=20 including two 10-year-olds who were shot in the abdomen and in the = right=20 shoulder. According to eyewitnesses and to medical records, the = children=20 were fired on with live ammunition from a distance of about 150 = metres.=20

Fifteen-year-old Muhammad Musbah Isma'il Abu Ghali = was shot=20 in the chest from an IDF jeep at Tuffah checkpoint in Khan Yunis, = in the=20 Gaza Strip, on the afternoon of 8 November 2000. Two UN staff = members who=20 were on their way back from the Mawasi area witnessed the = shooting.=20 According to one of them: "There was a group of children standing = around=20 the rubble of the demolished houses by the Tuffah checkpoint but = they were=20 not throwing stones or demonstrating. Two IDF jeeps arrived and = after a=20 moment a soldier fired a single shot which hit Muhammad in the = chest and=20 he fell. I knew the boy and I approached him and he said 'My = bicycle key=20 is in my pocket'. I asked him if he was OK and he didn't reply and = pulled=20 from his pocket the key, three photos and three shekels and then = slumped=20 back. The ambulance arrived to take him to hospital and he died on = the=20 way."

Khalil Ibrahim al-Mughrabi. On 7 July 2001 = three=20 children were shot by IDF sniper fire as they were flying kites = and=20 playing soccer in an open space near the border fence at Rafah. = Khalil=20 Ibrahim al-Mughrabi, age11, was killed by a high-velocity bullet = in the=20 head. Ibrahim Kamel Abu Sussain, age 10, and 13-year-old Suleiman = Turki=20 Abu Rijal were also shot and both sustained serious injuries in = the=20 abdomen and in the testicles, respectively. The shots came from an = IDF=20 post about 800 metres away, and the boys were in a large, open = space.=20 According to testimonies given to Amnesty International by Ibrahim = Kamel=20 Abu Sussain and by other children who were present at the time of = the=20 incident, there were no disturbances or clashes in the area at = that time.=20 The IDF claimed that there had been rioting and throwing of = fragmentation=20 grenades in the area at the time, but confidential IDF records = showed that=20 this was untrue. On 8 November 2001, the IDF informed the Israeli = human=20 rights organization B'Tselem that it had decided not to initiate = an=20 investigation of the incident because there was no suspicion of = criminal=20 behaviour by the soldiers. However, a file was attached to the = IDFs=20 response, apparently in error, which contained internal records of = the=20 IDFs operational de-briefings and the opinions of the IDF Southern = Command=20 Judge Advocate and of the Chief Military Prosecutor. These = documents,=20 which have been made public by B'Tselem, show that the IDF, in = spite of=20 the evidence, decided not to order a Military Police investigation = and=20 cleared the soldiers who killed Khalil al-Mughrabi and injured the = two=20 other children, and that in its response to B'Tselem the IDF = deliberately=20 presented an incorrect version of the = incident.(8)

Children=20 killed in attacks on residential areas and as bystanders during = Israeli=20 state assassinations

Israel has pursued a policy of=20 extra-judicially executing Palestinians whom it accuses of having = been=20 involved in attacks on Israelis, instead of arresting them and = bringing=20 them to justice. Such practice is in breach of international = standards.=20 More than 20 children and 20 other bystanders have been killed = during=20 these state assassinations, in a policy which has been ordered and = approved at the highest level of the Israeli government, including = by the=20 Prime Minister, the Minister of Defence and the Minister of = Foreign=20 Affairs.

On 22 July 2002, just before midnight, the IDF = dropped a=20 one-ton bomb from an F-16 aeroplane on a densely populated = neighbourhood=20 of Gaza city killing 17 people, including nine children, = and=20 wounding more than 70 others, many seriously. The children killed = were:=20 Ayman Raed Matar (18 months), Muhammad Raed Matar = (three=20 years), Diana Raed Matar (five years), Subhi Mahmud = al-Hweiti=20 (four years), Muhammad Mahmud al-Hweiti (six years), = Dina=20 Rami Matar (two months), Ala Muhammad Matar (10 = years), Iman=20 Salah Shehada (15 years), and Maryam Matar (17 = years,=20 seriously injured in the attack, she died on 15 = August).

The attack=20 destroyed the house of leading Hamas activist Salah = Shehada, who=20 was among those killed. Two other houses were completely = destroyed, and=20 four homes left uninhabitable. The Israeli authorities accused = Salah=20 Shehada of having been responsible for organizing a number of = suicide=20 attacks. Given the location of the target, in a densely populated = civilian=20 area, and the method of attack selected, those responsible for = planning=20 this attack must have known that civilians, including children, = would be=20 killed and wounded.

Six-year-old Ashraf Khader and = his=20 11-year-old brother Bilal were killed on 31 July 2001 when = the IDF=20 launched a rocket attack on an apartment building in a busy = residential=20 area in Nablus. The attack targeted and killed two Hamas = leaders,=20 Jamal Mansur and Jamal Salim, as well as four others; 15 people = were=20 wounded. The children had been playing outside, waiting for their = mother=20 while she visited a clinic in the same building.

On 10 = December=20 2001, three-year-old Burhan al-Himuni 13-year-old and = Shadi=20 Ahmad Arafe were killed in a failed Israeli assassination = attempt on a=20 suspected Islamic Jihad activist. The target of the attack = jumped=20 clear of his car moments before two missiles fired by the IDF from = helicopter gunships slammed into a busy Hebron intersection. = Burhan=20 al-Himuni and his father Muhammad were trapped inside the car; the = child=20 was decapitated. The other child, Shadi 'Arafe, was travelling in = a taxi=20 behind the targeted car; the taxi and a third vehicle were=20 destroyed.

By the end of 2000, although many children were = still=20 being killed in stone-throwing demonstrations, more killings were = taking=20 place during reckless shooting and shelling of civilian = residential areas.=20 Shooting and shelling has been both unprovoked and in response to=20 Palestinian gunfire, Molotov cocktails or other attacks. However, = in=20 responding to real or perceived Palestinian attacks, the IDF used = reckless=20 and disproportionate force, killing at least 80 Palestinian = children and=20 seriously injuring hundreds of others.

In certain areas of = the=20 Gaza Strip frequent IDF shooting and shelling of densely populated = residential areas appear to have aimed at creating no-go areas = between=20 Khan Yunis refugee camps and the Israeli settlement block of Gush = Katif,=20 and between Rafah refugee camp and the IDF security fence along = the=20 Egyptian border and around the IDF bunker. Amnesty International = delegates=20 who visited these areas at regular intervals in the past two years = noticed=20 the progressive expansion of these no-go-areas and witnessed the = IDFs=20 reckless and unprovoked shooting into these areas and towards = children and=20 adults alike (including in the direction of Amnesty International=20 delegates).

Hani Yusuf al-Sufi was killed on the = morning of=20 20 December 2000. There had been shooting in Rafah from Israeli = positions=20 and people took shelter in their houses. At around 9.45am, Hani = Yusuf=20 al-Sufi, aged 15, and five friends were standing in a narrow = alley-way=20 when a grenade hit the wall above their heads. His father told = Amnesty=20 International delegates:

"I was going to my house and I saw my two sons with other = people crowded in the narrow alley so I told them not to stay = outside=20 but to go home as Israelis were shooting indiscriminately. I = crossed=20 the road and a shell hit the road. I heard a loud explosion = and my=20 neighbour said my son was injured. I said it was impossible as = I had=20 told him to go back. I ran to the narrow street. What I saw = was=20 incredible - six boys in a pile, all injured. I saw my younger = son=20 Hani. I tried to take him up, I saw he was alive. Young men = came to=20 help but I told them to carry the other son. Because of his = injuries=20 in the head, back and neck I couldn't go on and collapsed = after two to=20 three metres. I tried to stand again but they came and took = him from=20 my hands and at that moment he died."

Hamid = al-Sufi and a=20 cousin, Muhammad Saqer al-Sufi, described to Amnesty International = delegates how they heard an extremely loud explosion and then felt = a wave=20 of air pressing down on them. After the explosion they could not = hear for=20 two days. The shrapnel collected by the family from the area, and = examined=20 by an Amnesty International military advisor on the spot and later = by=20 experts in London, and the description of those who survived the = attack=20 suggest that the shrapnel that killed Hani came from an M203 = grenade=20 launcher. The pattern of damage to the roofs of houses in Khan = Yunis=20 indicated that similar grenade launchers were used against = residential=20 areas in Khan Yunis. (9)

Four-month-old baby Iman = Hijju was killed on the morning of 7 May 2001 by heavy IDF = shelling in=20 Khan Yunis. Thirteen other civilians, including seven children, = were=20 wounded, some of them seriously. At about 11am artillery shells = and heavy=20 and medium calibre bullets were fired from IDF bases inside the = Gush Katif=20 settlement block into several areas of Khan Yunis refugee camp, = Hay=20 al-Amal and Nimsawi districts. According to testimonies given to = Amnesty=20 International by survivors, residents, and United Nations Relief = and Works=20 Agency (UNRWA) staff members who were present in the area, the IDF = shelling was intense and lasted for over half an hour. There was = no=20 Palestinian fire at the time in the area, though according to some = there=20 had been Palestinian fire earlier that morning but not from the = areas=20 shelled by the IDF. At the time of the shelling 20-year-old = Suzanne Hijju=20 was visiting her mother and relatives in Hay al-Amal with her=20 four-month-old baby, Iman. The house is very near to one of the = IDF bases=20 and, fearing that the house could be shelled, Suzanne Hijju and = her mother=20 decided to take the children to safety elsewhere. As they stepped = out of=20 the house a shell landed and exploded on the doorstep. Baby Iman = was hit=20 by a large piece of shrapnel which entered her stomach and went = through=20 her back, disembowelling her. Suzanne Hijju and her 38-year-old = mother,=20 Samia, were seriously injured by large pieces of shrapnel = throughout the=20 body and Samia's children, 18-month-old Mahmoud and six-year-old = Dunia,=20 were also wounded by shrapnel. Mahmud sustained serious abdomen = injuries=20 and Dunia was injured in the hand and leg.

Riham = al-Ward, a=20 10-year-old schoolgirl, was killed on 18 October 2001 when her = school, the=20 al-Ibrahimiya school in Jenin, was shelled during an Israeli = attack and=20 incursion into the city. The tanks started shelling just as = children were=20 arriving at the school; the director gathered the children in the = yard=20 into a ground-floor classroom. One girl was hit in the doorway of = the room=20 and Riham, who turned to help her, was hit in the heart and died = before=20 reaching hospital. The IDF was initially reported as claiming that = there=20 were armed Palestinians operating from the area and was later = reported as=20 admitting that they had made a mistake in shelling the = school.

On=20 17 May 2002 a seven-year-old boy, Amid Abu Sa'ir from = Nablus, was=20 killed by IDF tank fire near his house. Amid was with his father = on his=20 way to Friday prayers at the mosque. They were shot while = sheltering=20 behind a door in the passage leading to their house. Eyewitnesses = told=20 Amnesty International that IDF soldiers fired from two tanks in = response=20 to several boys (aged 8 to 13) who were on the main Askar Road and = were=20 throwing stones at the tanks. No other gunfire was reported. = Amid's=20 father, Muhammad Abd al-Samad Abu Sair, told Amnesty = International:

"It was Friday just before prayers. I am used to taking = my son=20 Amid with me to the mosque on the main Askar Road. I heard = tanks=20 coming from the east when I was still standing at the entrance = to my=20 house, which is located just on the main road. Amid was = standing right=20 next to me. He was very frightened and went back into the = house. He=20 told me There are dogs [referring to the tanks], I don't like = them. I=20 told him that we would wait in the house and then try to go to = the=20 mosque later. Within a few minutes, more tanks were coming. I = could=20 hear them close to my house. There was no shooting, just the = sound of=20 tanks. The door to the main street was closed and I was about = five=20 metres from the door. Amid came to me and said that the = speakers had=20 called us to prayer and that we were getting late. Just at = this time,=20 it was about 12.30pm, bullets came through the door. When I = heard the=20 bullets, I held on to my son and turned my back to the door. I = was hit=20 with splinters from the door from the waist to the bottom of = my=20 leg.

"I had started to move toward the stairs, and looked at = my sons=20 face. He had blood coming from his mouth and I also noticed = some blood=20 on his arm. He said Daddy, I am hit, Daddy I am hit. I began = to yell=20 "Amid, Amid" and my wife came. She called out for an ambulance = and=20 while she held on to him he lost consciousness. We did not = wait for an=20 ambulance, my nephew came with a car and we took Amid to the = Ittihad=20 hospital but he did not = survive."

Six-year-old Ahmad=20 Ghazawi and his 12-year-old brother Jamil were killed = near=20 their home in Jenin on 21 June 2002 by an IDF tank shell, which = also=20 wounded their 11-year-old brother, Tareq. Part of the incident was = captured on video tape by a neighbour. The boys father, Yusuf = Ghazawi,=20 told Amnesty International that a cousin who had come to the house = from=20 the east part of the city had informed him that the curfew which = had been=20 in place since 18 June had been lifted. Shortly after this, Ahmad = asked=20 his father for a shekel so he could buy something at the shop. It = was=20 about 11.30am. About ten minutes later, he was warned by = neighbours that=20 he should go to the hospital to find his children. Twelve-year-old = Rami=20 Imad Khader, who was with Jamil and his brothers at the time, = described=20 what happened to Amnesty International:

"I heard that the curfew had been lifted. When I heard = this, I=20 went out and joined my friends, Jamil, Tareq, Ahmad, Muhammad, = Wa'el=20 and Wassam. We all headed off to the main street. Jamil, = Tareq, Ahmad=20 and Wa'el were on their bikes and the rest of us were on foot. = When we=20 reached the intersection with the main street, we saw IDF = jeeps by the=20 square and became afraid. We headed back toward home, and = stopped and=20 stood to the side of a building on our street when we heard = the sound=20 of a tank go by. We then saw another tank about 300 metres = from us, so=20 we left the building and began to hurry back home. Jamil was = telling=20 Ahmad and Tareq to leave quickly as there were tanks. The tank = was now=20 situated at the end of the street and then I saw Dr. Samer's = car=20 coming toward us. He was blowing the horn to warn us to get = out of the=20 way.(10)

The next thing I remember is a = red light=20 and then an explosion. I think the bomb hit the wall of our=20 neighbour's house and bounced off.

"I moved toward = the side=20 when I heard the bomb. After that I came back toward the = street and=20 first saw Ahmad. He did not have a left leg and his stomach = was on the=20 road. I saw Jamil: he was injured in his back and was shaking = his=20 hands. He opened his eyes for a minute and then closed them. = Tareq was=20 near an electric pole, we found him last. One of his legs had = a hole=20 in it and pieces of the bomb were in his stomach, his ear and = his=20 back."

Children killed by flechettes and=20 booby-traps
Several children have been killed by flechette = shells=20 or explosive devices used by the IDF in densely populated areas. = Flechette=20 shells are 120mm shells filled with up to 5,000 potentially lethal = five-centimetre long steel darts or flechettes. Although not = illegal=20 per se under international law, such weapons should never = be used=20 in populated areas. In a visit to Khan Yunis in September 2001, = Amnesty=20 International delegates saw flechettes embedded in the wall of a = house=20 where 14 people lived, most of them children. =

Seventeen-year-old=20 Hikmat al-Malalha, her mother Nasra and cousin Salmiya were = killed=20 on 9 June 2001 when a flechette shell hit their tent in Zeitoun, a = Bedouin=20 village just southwest of Gaza City and about 1.5 km from the = Israeli=20 settlement of Netzarim. Three other family members were wounded. = On 11=20 June, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that the killing of the = three women=20 should not have happened. IDF officials, who at first had said = that troops=20 were returning fire from the area, confirmed the next day that the = shelling had been a mistake and said there would be an inquiry. = However,=20 on 17 July 2001 the IDF replied to a complaint filed by the PCHR = saying=20 that since the incident occurred in a war situation, no complaint = could be=20 accepted. Two days later, on 19 July, the Israeli daily Haaretz = reported=20 that the Chief Military Prosecutor was to appoint an investigative = officer=20 to investigate this case. In January 2002 the Head of the IDF = Legal=20 Department told Amnesty International delegates that the case was = still=20 under investigation. To date, more than two years after the = incident no=20 judicial investigation is known to have been opened and none of = the=20 eyewitnesses and survivors of the tank shell attack have ever been = contacted by the Israeli authorities to receive their=20 testimonies.

Muhammad Ahmad Lubud (17), Muhammad = Abd=20 al-Rahman al-Madhun (15) and Ahmad Muhammad Banat = (15)=20 were killed on 30 December 2001 near the Eli Sinai settlement = in the=20 northern Gaza Strip. IDF statements initially described them as = terrorists=20 intending to place a bomb near a settlement. The IDF later = admitted that=20 the boys had not had a bomb but said they did have a bag = containing two=20 knives. They were killed by a tank shell containing flechettes = fired from=20 some 1200 metres away. The bodies of the three were taken to = Israel for an=20 autopsy and only returned after four days. The incident attracted = a lot of=20 publicity because of Palestinian claims that the boys had been = taken away=20 alive. The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee asked to = see the=20 IDF film of the killings and invited certain human rights = organizations to=20 the viewing. The film showed them moving away from the tank when = they were=20 hit with flechettes. One of the boys was run over by a tank; this = was also=20 shown in the conclusions of the autopsy and was admitted by the = Israeli=20 military commander for the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military = commander of=20 the Northern Gaza Strip Brigade admitted to the Knesset committee = that=20 flechettes had scattered up to 100 metres from the = killings.

On 22=20 November 2001 five boys from the Istal family were killed = by a=20 booby trap device as they walked to school in Khan Yunis: = six-year-old=20 Akram Abd al-Karim al-Istal; Muhammad Na'im Abd al-Karim = al-Istal, age 14; Umar Idris al-Istal, age 13; Anis = Idris=20 al-Istal, 11; and Muhammad Salman al-Istal, also 11. = Amnesty=20 International delegates visited the site on 1 February 2002. The = IDF at=20 first denied responsibility for the explosion but subsequently = admitted=20 having placed the device there in the hope that it might detonate = against=20 armed Palestinians who sometimes shot during the night from the = area. Such=20 a device should never have been placed in such a public location, = or at=20 least should have been immediately defused before morning, as this = is an=20 area where many people passed, especially children on their way to = school.

Children killed as a result of the demolition of = houses

In Jenin, Nablus and other places the IDF = bulldozed a=20 number of houses while residents, including children, were still = inside.=20 On other occasions the IDF used explosives to blow up houses = without=20 evacuating the surrounding houses, which were also destroyed or = damaged in=20 the process. In some cases civilians, including children, were = killed or=20 buried alive under rubble of the demolished house. In the cases = researched=20 by Amnesty International, no warnings were apparently given for = the safe=20 evacuation of civilians before houses were = demolished.

Three=20 children, Abdallah, Azam and Anas al-Shu'bi, = aged=20 four, seven and nine years, their pregnant mother and four other = relatives=20 died under the rubble of their house which was demolished by the = IDF on 6=20 April 2002 in the Qasbah (Old City) of Nablus during a period of = strict=20 curfew imposed by the IDF. Two survivors were eventually pulled = from under=20 the rubble, nearly one week after the house was demolished. = Neighbours of=20 the family interviewed by Amnesty International stated that the = IDF had=20 given no warning before beginning to destroy the house with = bulldozers,=20 and that they had been fired upon by the IDF when they defied the = curfew=20 in an attempt to search for survivors under the rubble of the = destroyed=20 house.

Mahmud Umar al-Shu'bi, the children's cousin, told = Amnesty=20 International that on the afternoon of 12 April the curfew was = lifted for=20 two hours and he went to look for his father and sister. When he = arrived=20 at the family house, he found that it had been demolished. Mahmoud = said=20 that he started to dig with the help of his neighbours, hoping to = find his=20 relatives alive under the rubble. Because it started to rain, the = mud made=20 the process more difficult. He carried on digging after the curfew = was=20 reimposed and was fired upon several times; late that night, the = rescuers=20 came across a small opening on the ground floor of where the house = once=20 stood. In the small space that remained, they found his = 68-year-old uncle,=20 Abdallah, and his 67-year-old wife, Shamsa, who had managed to = survive.=20 They carried on digging throughout the night and at 1.30am, found = the=20 bodies of the rest of the family, who had died huddled in a = circle, in one=20 small room: his father Umar, his sister Fatima, his cousins Samir = and his=20 7-month pregnant wife, Nabila, and their three children: Abdallah, = Azam=20 and Anas, as well as another cousin Abir. Afterwards neighbours = told=20 Mahmud that they could hear the screams of the family above the = noise of=20 the bulldozer but had not been able to help and that the bulldozer = had=20 actually collapsed down on top of the house, which was built on a=20 slope.

Fares al-Sa'adi, 12 years old, was killed on = the=20 evening of 21 June 2002, when the IDF blew up an unoccupied house = adjacent=20 to his family home in the Old City area of Jenin. The explosion = also=20 destroyed the house of the al-Saadi family, trapping eight members = of the=20 family under the rubble. Fares was killed and two other family = members=20 were seriously injured. No warning was given to the family before = the=20 explosion despite protest s from a
neighbour who had been = forced by=20 the IDF to check the adjacent house.(11) Amnesty International = interviewed=20 neighbours as well as family members. The accounts of the incident = are=20 consistent that no warnings were given. The IDF has claimed the = targeted=20 property was used to store munitions. Regardless of whether such = claim is=20 well-founded or not, there was a gross failure on the part of the = IDF to=20 protect the civilian population in the immediate area.

A = neighbour=20 of the al-Sa'adi family told Amnesty International:

"[...]The soldiers told me that they were going to = demolish the=20 house. I saw the bomb. I explained to the soldiers that there = were=20 actually two houses, not just this one, and that only a common = wall=20 separated them. I told them that if they exploded this house = the other=20 one would also fall. I said that there were children next = door. I=20 asked the soldiers to give me permission to knock on the door = and warn=20 them, but they said no. They told me that they knew how to do = their=20 business and that they were only going to explode this = particular=20 house... After a very short time, I heard an=20 explosion."

Faress father, Hassan Fares = al-Sa'adi,=20 was with his family at the time of the explosion:

"All of a sudden, there was an explosion and the roof = fell=20 down. I was then under the rubble. When I got out, I was = calling to my=20 children. I first heard Mahmud (11), who was injured on his = left=20 ankle. I then heard my daughter Asil (8) whose leg was broken = and had=20 a head injury. My wife had injuries all over the left side of = her body=20 and she was cut and bleeding. Up until now she cannot hear = well in her=20 left ear. I then found my daughter Hadil, who was unconscious. = After=20 that I found my niece Muna; she had a back and leg injury. We = then=20 found Fares. At that moment, I didn't know if he was alive or=20 dead."

Death of children as a result of = denial of=20 access to medical care

Palestinian women in labour have = been=20 held up at checkpoints, and delayed or even prevented from passing = through=20 to reach hospital; in several cases such delays have resulted in = loss of=20 life for the babies and their = mothers.

Seventeen-year-old=20 Rana al-Jayusi, from Kur (a village between Tulkarem and = Qalqiliya),=20 went into labour on the morning of 9 March 2002. She was unable to = get to=20 the hospital because the roads were blocked. She gave birth at the = house=20 of a midwife where the infant died at birth. Her condition = deteriorated=20 and her husband tried to take her to the hospital in Qalqiliya. = Soldiers=20 at the checkpoint delayed them for about thirty minutes and only = then=20 summoned an ambulance. When the ambulance arrived, she was already = dead.

Tahani Assad Ali, a 35-year-old pharmacist, = went into=20 labour on 12 April 2002, when she was at the end of her eighth = month of=20 pregnancy. She was at home with her husband Ali al-Shaar, a = physician=20 working for Save the Children in Jerusalem. Nablus was under = curfew and=20 when her husband called the Red Crescent to ask for an ambulance = they=20 responded that the Israeli army was not letting them move about, = but that=20 they would try. After about 15 minutes, he called again and they = said that=20 they had tried to come but the IDF had ordered them to return. Ali = asked=20 them to try to coordinate with the International Committee of the = Red=20 Cross (ICRC). A few minutes later, somebody from the Red Crescent = informed=20 them that they had tried again, but the IDF fired at them and = forced them=20 to return. The third time Ali called the ambulance driver said = that he=20 would take the risk and try to get through without Red Cross = coordination.=20 Ali asked him not to endanger his life, and tried to seek help = calling the=20 director of Save the Children in Jerusalem, who promised that he = would=20 call some organizations that might be able to help.

Around = 6pm,=20 Tahanis labour pains got worse, and Ali called Dr. Salem Tabila, = an=20 obstetrician who lives nearby. He and Ali delivered the baby boy, = which=20 was born shortly after 6pm. His condition was normal. About = fifteen=20 minutes later, though, his condition started to deteriorate. He = started to=20 turn blue, and he stopped crying. Ali gave him first aid, but his=20 condition worsened and he died.(12)

Amnesty International = has also=20 received reports of children who have died after being denied or = delayed=20 access to medical care.

Children killed by Israeli=20 settlers

Attacks by Israeli settlers against = Palestinians in=20 the Occupied Territories have continued during the = intifada. In=20 most cases the IDF does not intervene sufficiently promptly or = vigorously=20 - if at all - to protect Palestinians from settler = violence.

On 19=20 July 2001, Diya Marwan Tmeizi, a baby of almost four months = from=20 the village of Idna (near Hebron), was killed when the car he was=20 travelling in with his family on their way home from the wedding = of=20 relatives, was shot at by Israeli settlers. Two other family = members were=20 also killed in the attack, and five were wounded, including = two-year-old=20 Amira. The attack happened not far from the Tarqumiya roadblock, = but the=20 soldiers manning the roadblock did not stop the killers' car when = it fled.=20 The attack was claimed by a group which called itself the = Committee for=20 Road Safety which is reportedly linked to the outlawed Jewish = right-wing=20 group Kach.

Fourteen-year-old Nivin Jamjoum was = killed on=20 28 July 2002 by Israeli settlers who attacked some Palestinian = homes in=20 Hebron. She was shot in the head with an M16 rifle by Israeli = settlers=20 while standing on the balcony of her home in the al-Shaludi = quarter, in=20 the old city of Hebron. Nivin's brother, 20-year-old Marwan, was = wounded=20 in the right leg. In total, 11 Palestinians were injured. None of = those=20 responsible are known to have been brought to=20 justice.

KILLINGS OF ISRAELI = CHILDREN

Seventy two=20 Israeli children have been killed in attacks by armed Palestinians = since=20 the beginning of the intifada. A high percentage of the = victims=20 (some 70%) were killed by suicide bombings and the rest were = killed in=20 shooting and other attacks.

In the past 18 months there has = been a=20 marked increase in attacks on Israeli civilians, both in Israel = and in=20 settlements or roads leading to settlements in the Occupied = Territories,=20 and an increasingly high number of victims have been = children.

In=20 the first seven months of 2002 alone, 36 children (17 in the = Occupied=20 Territories and 19 in Israel) were killed, the equivalent of the = total=20 number of Israeli children killed during the whole of the previous = year.(13) Amnesty International has repeatedly called on = Palestinian armed=20 groups to end attacks on civilians, which can never be justified,=20 immediately and unconditionally.(14)

Children killed in = suicide=20 attacks

On 1 June 2001 a suicide bomber blew himself up = among a=20 group of young people waiting to enter the Dolphinarium = night club=20 in Tel Aviv, killing 21 people, 20 of them civilians, where 12 = were aged=20 under 18. About 120 others were wounded. This was the bloodiest = attack by=20 Palestinian armed groups on Israeli civilians for several years. = The=20 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the = Palestinian=20 Islamist group Hamas, claimed responsibility for the attack = two=20 days later in a statement faxed to foreign media in which the = suicide=20 bomber was named as 20-year-old Said Hutari, originally from = Qalqilya,=20 resident in Jordan. The statement expressed pride for the attack = and=20 pledged to carry out further attacks. By choosing to target such a = place,=20 the entrance to a discoth=E8que on a Friday night, the attacker = meant to=20 kill and harm as many civilians as possible and must have = anticipated that=20 many children would be among the victims.=20

Most of the victims who were killed in the attack = had=20 immigrated to Israel in recent years from the former Soviet Union. = They=20 were: Raisa Namirovsky (15), from Netanya and her neighbour = and=20 friend Maria Tagilchev (14 years), outside whose school a = car bomb=20 had exploded two days earlier; Yevgenia Keren Dorfman, = (15=20 years), who sustained serious brain damage in the explosion and = died after=20 18 days; Katherine Kastanada Talker (15 years) a student = from Ramat=20 Gan; 16-year-old Yulia Nelimov, whose 18-year-old sister = Yelena was=20 also killed; Irina Nepomneschi, a 16-year-old business=20 administration student from Bat Yam; Anya Kazachkov and her = friend=20 Mariana Medvedenko, both aged 16; Marina Berkovski = from Tel=20 Aviv, who went to the nightclub to celebrate her 17th birthday; = and=20 16-year-old Aleksei Lupalu, who had immigrated from Ukraine = just=20 six months earlier.

" I looked at them, they were all laughing" recalls the = owner=20 of the a kiosk located just 15 meters from the club "the boys = were=20 flirting with they girls. They were all in a good mood, they = looked=20 like angels, dressed so nice."(15)

Just over = two months=20 after the Dolphinarium bombing, another major suicide attack was = carried=20 out on 9 August in the Sbarro Pizzeria, at a busy = intersection in=20 the heart of West Jerusalem. A man walked into the pizzeria during = a=20 crowded lunch hour and detonated a powerful bomb packed with = nails,=20 killing 14 civilians, including seven children, and injuring more = than=20 100. Both the groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas claimed = responsibility for the attack, which killed: 16-year-old Michal = Raziel and her 15-year-old long-term friend Malka Roth; = the two=20 girls had stopped for lunch at the pizzeria on their way to = Talpiot, to=20 take part in activities of the youth movement of which they were = both=20 members; five members of the Schijveschuurder family, from Neria, = were=20 killed in the attack and two others were injured: Tzira and = Mordechai=20 Schijveschuurder were killed along with their daughters Ra'aya = and=20 Hemda (ages 14 and two), and their four-year-old son = Avraham=20 Yitzhak; two other daughters were injured. The family had come = to=20 spend the day in Jerusalem, to relax from the tension of the = frequent=20 shootings near their home in Neria settlement in the West Bank. =

"The last time I was my brother Avraham Yitzhak," = recalled Haya=20 Schijveschuurder from her bed in hospital, "he was lying on a=20 stretcher in an ambulance. He had a bandage on his face. He = was four=20 years old"

"We were hungry, so Mommy said we = could go to=20 a restaurant to eat. In that restaurant, you have to pay first = and=20 only afterwards you sit down to eat. When were at the cash = register,=20 we suddenly heard an explosion. I ran out as fast as I could. = I didn't=20 look at anything. I just ran out. A medic, I don't know his = name, took=20 me to an ambulance and that is where I saw Avraham Yitzhak for = the=20 last time."(16)

Eight-year-old Tamara = Shimashvili=20 from Jerusalem was killed with her mother, Lily. Her father was in = Moscow=20 at the time of the bombing. Lily and Tamara had arrived in Israel = only=20 eight months earlier from Moscow, to join the rest of their = family.=20 Yocheved Shoshan, aged 10, had gone with her mother and her = sisters, Rachel and Michal, to have lunch at the pizzeria. They = were=20 seated on the second floor, but Yocheved and Michal had gone back=20 downstairs, where the explosion occurred, to order another slice = of pizza.=20 Yocheved was killed instantly in the explosion and Michal was = seriously=20 wounded.

On 16 February 2002, a suicide bomber strapped = with=20 nail-studded explosives blew himself up in a pizzeria in the = shopping=20 mall of Karnei Shomron, an Israeli settlement in the West = Bank,=20 killing three teenagers: Keren Shatzki, 14, who had gone to = the=20 local Yuvalim Mall to meet up with friends and eat pizza; = Nehemia=20 Amar, 15, had gone to the pizza restaurant with his older = brother=20 Moshe; when the bomb detonated, Moshe had just left his brother = for a=20 minute; and 16-year-old Rachel Thaler, who never recovered = from the=20 critical head injury she sustained in the bombing and never = regained=20 consciousness until her death on 27 February, 12 days after the = attack.=20 The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed=20 responsibility for this attack.

Twelve people were killed = and more=20 than 50 people were injured by a suicide bomber on the evening of = 2 March=20 2002 near a synagogue in the orthodox Beit Yisrael = neighbourhood of=20 Jerusalem. The bomb was detonated next to a group of women = waiting, with=20 their baby carriages, for their husbands to leave the nearby = synagogue=20 following sundown prayers marking the end of the Sabbath. Seven of = those=20 killed included two sisters, six-year-old Shiraz = Nehmad and=20 her two-year-old sister Liran, whose parents also died in = the=20 attack; their cousins Lidor and Oriah Ilan, aged 12 years = and 18=20 months, and Shaul and Avraham Eliahu Nehmad, aged 15 = and 17.=20 Avraham Eliahu lost an arm and suffered severe internal injuries = in the=20 explosion and never regained consciousness. He died of his = injuries on 20=20 June. A seven-month-old baby, Ya'akov Avraham was also = killed with=20 his mother, 23-year-old Tzofia Eliahu. They lived in the Beit = Yisrael=20 neighbourhood and on Saturday, Tzofia went with her two children,=20 two-year-old Shira and the baby Ya'akov, to the home of her = sister, who=20 lived nearby and they went for a walk.

When we came = back Yaakov=20 started crying, and Tzofia lifted him from the baby carriage, = her=20 sister Livnat said. Livnat continued walking with Shira and the = carriage,=20 when the explosion occurred. I looked back, and I didn't see = Tzofia and=20 Ya'akov - I just saw fire."(17)

The al-Aqsa = Martyrs=20 Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack.

Children = killed=20 in other attacks

Israeli children have been killed in = targeted=20 shootings or as a result of other attacks on civilian targets such = as=20 private houses, cars or public buses.

Shalhevet Pass = was 10=20 months old when she was shot by a Palestinian sniper from a hill = opposite=20 the entrance to the Israeli settlement of Avraham Avinu, in = Hebron, on 26=20 March 2001. She was shot in the head as her parents tried to = protect her.=20 According to the Israeli authorities one of the bullets penetrated = the=20 baby's head, passing through the skull and then hitting her = father's leg.=20 On 16 August 2002 the IDF announced to the media that it had = arrested the=20 man responsible for her killing.

Five-month-old = Yehuda=20 Shoham, from the Israeli settlement of Shilo in the West Bank, = was=20 seriously wounded in the head by a rock thrown by Palestinians = through the=20 windscreen of his familys car near his home on 5 June 2001. He = suffered=20 severe brain damage and remained unconscious and attached to a = respirator=20 in hospital, where he died on 11 June.

Two teenagers, = 16-year-old=20 Shoshana Ben-Yishai and 14-year-old Menashe Regev = were both=20 killed on 4 November 2001 when a gunman belonging to Islamic = Jihad=20 fired at a commuter bus at the French Hill junction in northern = Jerusalem.=20 Forty five people were injured in the attack.

Avia = Malka,=20 a nine-month-old baby, was killed by two Palestinians = who shot=20 and threw grenades at cars and pedestrians in Netanya on 9 March = 2002. One=20 other person was killed and about 50 people were injured, several = of them=20 seriously. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed = responsibility for=20 the attack.

On 27 April 2002, three armed men attacked = residents=20 of Adora, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. In the bedroom = of one=20 house a gunman killed five-year old Danielle Shefi as she = hid under=20 a bed, and wounded her mother Shiri, her brothers Uriel, aged four = and=20 Eliad, aged two. Elsewhere in the settlement, they also killed = three=20 adults. The Izz-al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (the military = wing of=20 Hamas) claimed responsibility for what it described as an = "heroic=20 and daring operation."(18)

PRINCIPLES PROHIBITING = THE=20 TARGETING OF CHILDREN AND OTHER CIVILIANS

A fundamental = principle of international humanitarian law is that parties = involved in a=20 conflict must at all times distinguish between civilians (and = therefore=20 children) and combatants, and between civilian objects and = military=20 objectives. It is not permitted to target civilians, that is = people who=20 are not members of the armed forces of either side. This = principle, known=20 as the principle of distinction, is a fundamental rule of = customary=20 international humanitarian law, binding on all parties to armed = conflicts,=20 whether international or non-international.(19)

Amnesty=20 International condemns unreservedly all attacks on children, as on = all=20 civilians, whatever the cause for which the perpetrators are = fighting,=20 whatever justification they may give for their actions. Targeting=20 civilians of whatever age and being reckless as to their fate is = contrary=20 to fundamental principles of humanity which should apply in all=20 circumstances at all times.

Israels obligations = as an=20 occupying power

The rules of an occupying power are = laid down=20 in the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of = Civilian=20 Persons in Time of War of 1949, to which Israel is a High = Contracting=20 Party. Palestinian children, like all residents of the Occupied=20 Territories, benefit from the protection of the Fourth Geneva = Convention=20 and are ''protected persons''.(20)

Even though Israel has = in the=20 past rejected the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to = the=20 Occupied Territories (the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and = the Gaza=20 Strip), according to the International Committee of the Red Cross = (ICRC),=20 the UN, and the international community in general, the Fourth = Geneva=20 Convention fully applies to the Occupied Territories and the = Palestinians=20 are a protected population under the terms of the Convention.=20

Israel has equal obligations to protect human rights, = including=20 the right to life, under the terms of major UN human rights = treaties which=20 it has ratified and which it is obliged to uphold. These include = the=20 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and = the=20 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

Other human = rights=20 standards binding on members of the UN that are particularly = relevant for=20 the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinian children in this = context=20 are the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (Code of = Conduct)=20 and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by = Law=20 Enforcement Officials (Basic Principles).

Many killings of=20 Palestinian children have been the result of excessive and totally = disproportionate use of force by the IDF. Article 2 of the UN Code = of=20 Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials states that:

"In the performance of their duty, law enforcement = officials=20 shall respect and protect human dignity and maintain and = uphold the=20 human rights of all persons. Law enforcement officials may use = force=20 only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for = the=20 performance of their duty."

Article 3 of the = Code of=20 Conduct clarifies that the use of firearms is considered as = an=20 extreme measure and states specifically that every effort = should be=20 made to exclude the use of firearms, especially against=20 children.

Israeli regulations on the use of firearms = before the=20 current intifada began in 2000 allowed the use of = non-lethal=20 firearms to disperse demonstrations or to arrest suspects. Prior = to the=20 intifada Israeli soldiers responded to Palestinian children = who=20 demonstrated and often threw stones by frequently shooting at them = with=20 rubber-coated metal bullets. These bullets are lethal, especially = at short=20 range; they consist of a heavy metal core coated with a thin layer = of hard=20 rubber or plastic and have considerable penetrative power.=20

According to the IDF's own regulations, they are not = intended to=20 be used at close range, should only be fired at the lower = extremities, and=20 it is explicitly prohibited to use them against children. However, = the IDF=20 has regularly used such bullets against child demonstrators at = distances=20 considerably closer than the minimum permitted range of 40 metres = and the=20 pattern of injury indicates that IDF practice has not been to aim = at the=20 legs of demonstrators, as the majority of injuries suffered by = children=20 from rubber-coated bullets are to the upper body and head = .

It is=20 not clear what the current regulations on the use of firearms are, = as the=20 Israeli authorities have refused to disclose them since shortly = after the=20 beginning of the intifada.(21) The pattern of injury = sustained by=20 Palestinian children and others shows that immediately from the = first days=20 of the intifada the IDF used live ammunition as well as=20 rubber-coated metal bullets, and that they sharply increased the = use of=20 live ammunition very quickly. The UN Relief and Works Agency = (UNRWA) also=20 charted a steady rise in injuries from live fire since 1 October = 2000,=20 three days after the start of the Palestinian uprising, and a = parallel=20 decline in the use of rubber-coated bullets.

It is not = clear what=20 instructions, if any, have been given to IDF soldiers about the = targeting=20 of children. However, the large number of children killed and = injured by=20 the IDF throughout the Occupied Territories in the past two years = and the=20 fact that most children killed or injured were hit in the head or = upper=20 body shows that in their use of firearms against Palestinian = children, the=20 IDF have consistently breached international standards regulating = the use=20 of force and firearms. (22)

Obligations of Palestinian = Armed=20 Groups and of the Palestinian Authority (PA)

The = United=20 Nations General Assembly has recognized the legitimacy of the = struggle of=20 peoples against colonial and alien domination or foreign = occupation in the=20 exercise of their right to self-determination and = independence.(23)=20 However, as mentioned above, international law sets out standards = of=20 humane conduct applicable to both state forces and armed groups = and=20 requires the use of force to be in accordance with certain basic=20 principles that apply in all situations. In the words of the ICRC, = the=20 most authoritative interpreter of international humanitarian law,=20 "whenever armed force is used the choice of means and methods is = not=20 unlimited."

Therefore, the assertion made by Palestinian = armed=20 groups that international law imposes no constraints on the means = used to=20 fight occupying powers runs counter to one of the most basic rules = of=20 international humanitarian law. (24)

In their attacks = Palestinian=20 armed groups make no distinction between military objectives and=20 civilians, including children. Their stated reasons for targeting = Israeli=20 civilians include: that they do not have other means to fight an = occupying=20 power who has one of the most sophisticated and powerful armies in = the=20 world;(25) that religion and international law permit the use of = any means=20 in resistance to occupation; that they are retaliating against = Israel for=20 killing members of armed groups and Palestinians generally; that=20 indiscriminate attacks or attacks against civilians is the only = way they=20 can make an impact upon a far more powerful adversary; that = Israelis=20 generally or settlers in particular are not civilians. =

However, no=20 violations by the Israeli army, no matter their scale or gravity, = can ever=20 justify the targeting and killing of Israeli children or any other = civilians by Palestinian groups. The prohibition on targeting = civilians is=20 absolute and the obligation to respect this principle cannot be = set aside=20 because Israel has failed to respect its obligations.

Even = though=20 there is no Palestinian state, the PA also has an obligation to = abide by=20 the above-mentioned principles to protect civilians. Their ability = to=20 exercise control over the armed groups has been hampered by the = systematic=20 destruction by the IDF of the PA's security installations and by = the=20 restrictions imposed by Israel on movements and activities; = however, this=20 does not lessen in any way the obligation of the PA to exert every = effort=20 and take concrete measures to prevent Palestinian armed groups and = members=20 of their security forces from carrying out attacks against Israeli = civilians in the Occupied Territories and in Israel.

The = obligation to protect the rights of all children

The = notion of=20 special childhood rights derives from the universal recognition = that=20 children,
by reason of their physical and emotional = immaturity, are=20 dependent on their family and community and, more widely, on adult = structures of political and economic power to safeguard their = well-being.=20

International standards guarantee children protection from = all=20 forms of violence, whatever the reason, whoever the perpetrator. = The UN=20 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) provides a = comprehensive=20 reference point for childrens rights in a broad range of=20 situations.(26)

The State of Israel ratified the CRC in = 1991, and=20 as such is bound to respect and ensure the rights set forth in the = Convention to each child within its jurisdiction without = discrimination of=20 any kind.(27) Hence, Israel has the obligation to extend = Palestinian=20 children the same rights and protection as Israeli children. = However, in=20 practice the Israeli authorities do not respect this obligation. = Not only=20 are Palestinian children from the Occupied Territories not = afforded the=20 same degree of protection as Israeli children, but they are = actually=20 subjected to grave violations by the IDF and other Israeli = security=20 forces. In its report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the=20 Child(28) the Israeli government did not include = information on the=20 situation of Palestinian children in the Occupied Territories.=20 (29)

Since there is no Palestinian State, the PA has not = ratified=20 the CRC, but has repeatedly stated its commitment to implementing = the=20 provisions of this Convention.(30) In any case, regardless of such = stated=20 commitment, the PA have an obligation to comply with the = above-mentioned=20 provisions of international law and to take the necessary measures = to=20 ensure the respect and protection of children and other civilians. =

Impunity as a contributing factor to encouraging the = killing of=20 children

The pattern of killing of children which has = become so=20 entrenched and widespread in the past two years developed against = a=20 background of impunity for the perpetrators of such crimes over = many years=20 prior to the current intifada. Between 1987 and 2000, the = 13 years=20 which preceded the start of the current intifada some 280=20 Palestinian children were killed, most of them by the IDF and some = by=20 Israeli settlers, in the Occupied Territories. In the same period = 18=20 Israeli children were killed by Palestinians, most of them in = Israel and=20 some in the Occupied Territories. Invariably those responsible for = such=20 crimes were granted impunity.

In the overwhelming majority = of cases=20 the Israeli authorities did not conduct adequate investigations = and the=20 Israeli soldiers and settlers who were responsible for the killing = of=20 Palestinian children were not brought to trial. Even in the few = cases=20 where Israelis were tried for the killing of Palestinian children, = the=20 sentences they received were not commensurate with the seriousness = of the=20 crime they had committed. For example, in January 2001 the = Jerusalem=20 District Court sentenced a 37-year-old Israeli man to six months = community=20 service for the killing of an 11-year-old Palestinian child. At = the same=20 time, an 18-year-old Palestinian woman was sentenced to six and = half years=20 imprisonment for stabbing and injuring an Israeli settler, an = offence she=20 had committed when she was 15 years old.(31)

Palestinians = who were=20 responsible for the killing of Israeli children after the = establishment of=20 the PA in 1993 also benefited from impunity. In the mid and late = 1990s the=20 PA detained hundreds of people, including members and supporters = of armed=20 groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, whose armed = wings=20 had been responsible for the killings of Israeli children. = However, these=20 detentions were often motivated by political considerations, = intended to=20 stifle dissent and opposition to the PA and their policies or to = respond=20 to Israeli and international pressure to act against armed groups, = rather=20 than by a genuine concern to bring perpetrators of serious crimes = to=20 justice.(32) Those arrested were often detained without charge or = were=20 tried by the State Security Court, in procedures which violated=20 international fair trial standards, but were not prosecuted for = the=20 killing of Israeli children or other civilians.

Since the = outbreak=20 of the current intifada and throughout the past two years = the=20 problem of impunity has taken on unprecedented dimensions. = Israeli,=20 Palestinian and international human rights organizations who have=20 researched and documented the killings of civilians in general and = of=20 children in particular, have all concluded that impunity is a = widespread=20 and entrenched problem which contributes to encouraging the = perpetrators=20 of these crimes to continue with such practices. Military and = police=20 experts who have taken part in Amnesty International 's = investigations=20 have endorsed this conclusion.

Impunity in the context = of the=20 current intifada

Israeli government = officials and=20 the IDF have told Amnesty International that soldiers use lethal = force=20 only when they respond to Palestinian attackers who pose a threat = to their=20 lives and only when they can identify with accuracy the source of = fire.=20 They stressed that every effort is made to limit civilian = casualties=20 through the means and methods used in their response. However, = these=20 claims do not reflect the circumstances of the killings of = children=20 documented in this and other reports by Amnesty International and = other=20 organizations. These claims are also not borne out by the frequent = and=20 continuing incidents of reckless shooting by the IDF of children = and other=20 civilians witnessed by representatives of Amnesty International = and of=20 other organizations.

The heavy toll of children killed and = injured=20 and the circumstances in which they were attacked (as described in = the=20 previous section) indicates that too often little or no care was = taken by=20 the IDF to avoid causing harm to children. Given the high level of = IDF=20 intelligence on the Occupied Territories, as claimed by the IDF = themselves=20 and as shown by the precision of some of the IDF operations, it = would be=20 difficult to contend that those who ordered, planned and approved = certain=20 IDF attacks on densely populated residential areas, could not have = anticipated that children were being put at risk of death and = injury=20 during such operations. The use of tank rounds, aerial = bombardments or=20 booby traps in crowded residential areas in the Gaza Strip, one of = the=20 most densely populated places in the world, where the majority of = the=20 inhabitants are children, carries a very high likelihood of = harming=20 civilians, including children. Hence, in such cases, Israeli = officials=20 claims that sufficient care was taken not to hurt children and = that=20 civilian casualties occurred by mistake appear disingenuous - all = the more=20 so when the same pattern of mistake occurs repeatedly and when the = incidents which resulted in the killing of children have not been=20 investigated.

No judicial investigation into any of the = cases of=20 killings of Palestinian children by the IDF in the Occupied = Territories is=20 known to have been carried out. In some of the cases Israeli = government=20 officials stated publicly that an investigation would be carried = out. This=20 was notably so for cases which attracted a lot of international = interest,=20 such as the cases of Iman Hijju, Hikmat al-Malalha, the Istal = brothers, or=20 the Gaza bombing - detailed on pages 7, 10, and 5. However, even = in the=20 cases where such commitments were made, eyewitnesses, or people = who were=20 injured with the victims and who could have provided valuable = information=20 to any inquiry about the incident have not been interviewed or = even=20 contacted by the Israeli authorities several months after the = incidents=20 and no judicial investigations are known to have been=20 opened.

Amnesty International has repeatedly raised its = concerns=20 with officials from the Israeli government and the IDF at the lack = of=20 investigations into killings of children and other civilians and = at the=20 impunity afforded to those responsible for such crimes. In their=20 responses, Israeli officials have consistently contended that no=20 investigations are necessary in the current situation of armed = conflict.=20 In a meeting with Amnesty International delegates on 16 January = 2001, the=20 Head of the Legal Department of the IDF, said that No army carries = out=20 investigations in warfare. In another meeting with IDF = representatives on=20 14 May 2002, Amnesty International delegates were told I dont need = to=20 investigate. We made mistakes that caused casualties on both sides = but no=20 Palestinian was killed deliberately. On 5 August 2002, the Deputy = Director=20 of the Human Rights Division in the Israeli Foreign Ministry told = Amnesty=20 International delegates that in an armed struggle investigations = are not=20 opened unless it is suspected that something is wrong... usually=20 investigations are not opened unless it is known that it was=20 deliberate".

The Israeli authorities' assertion that in a = situation=20 of armed conflict investigations into killings of civilians are = not=20 necessary runs counter to Israels obligations according to = international=20 human rights treaties to which Israel is a State Party - and which = include=20 articles which cannot be derogated from, even in time of public = emergency=20 which threatens the life of the nation ".(33)

The Israeli=20 authorities' insistence that investigations are not necessary - = after more=20 than 250 children, and hundreds of other civilians, have been = killed by=20 the IDF in less than two years - and the fact that those who have = killed=20 children, whether in stone-throwing incidents or demonstrations, = reckless=20 shooting, or shelling or bombardments of residential areas, have = not been=20 brought to justice, has undoubtedly contributed to the readiness = of=20 Israeli soldiers to resort to the unlawful and excessive use of = lethal=20 force.

Armed Palestinian groups, for their part, do not = seek to=20 hide the fact that they target civilians, including children, and=20 generally claim responsibility for their attacks. In many cases, = including=20 in most of the attacks which killed a large number of children, = the=20 perpetrators of the attacks killed themselves (in suicide attacks) = or were=20 killed by the IDF during or shortly after the attack. In other = cases those=20 who carried out the attacks managed to escape. Some were = reportedly=20 subsequently killed or arrested by Israeli security forces and = others are=20 still at large.

There has been a consistent failure on the = part of=20 the PA to take the necessary steps to arrest those responsible for = killing=20 Israeli children and other civilians. The PA have repeatedly = claimed that=20 the operational capacity of their security forces has been greatly = impaired by the IDFs systematic bombing and destruction of their=20 headquarters and installations, the targeting of its security = personnel,=20 and the restrictions imposed on their movements.(34) They have = also argued=20 that if the Israeli security forces, who have superior = intelligence and=20 equipment and have total freedom of movement, cannot locate and = arrest=20 wanted Palestinians it is unreasonable to expect the Palestinian = security=20 forces to be able to
do so.(35)

In response to = increased=20 Israeli and international pressure, the PA has claimed that it has = exerted=20 a 100 percent effort to prevent terrorist operations and refers to = having=20 "arrested hundreds of individuals suspected of violating the = ceasefire,"=20 banning paramilitary organizations and prohibiting financial = transfer to=20 them.

It is not possible to establish with certainty to = what extent=20 the persistence and increase in attacks against civilians by armed = groups=20 based in areas under the jurisdiction of the PA is due to the = weakening of=20 the PA security structures by IDF attacks on Palestinian security=20 installations and detention centres, to collusion or inaction by=20 Palestinian officials and security forces members sympathetic to = the armed=20 groups, or to the high level of popular support enjoyed by these = armed=20 groups. The available evidence indicates that each of these = factors=20 is a contributing element to the escalation of the situation in = the areas=20 under the PAs jurisdiction and to the prevailing atmosphere of=20 impunity.

Whatever the impact these factors may have had on = the PAs=20 capability of ensuring respect for the rule of law in the areas = under=20 their jurisdiction, it does not diminish the PAs obligation to = take=20 concrete measures to prevent attacks by Palestinian groups against = Israeli=20 children and other civilians, to conduct thorough and impartial=20 investigations into these attacks, and to bring those responsible = to=20 justice according to international standards for fair=20 trials.

IMPACT OF OTHER PATTERNS OF ABUSES AGAINST=20 CHILDREN

This report focuses on the killing of = children, as the=20 ultimate and irremediable form of abuse, but it is important to = note that=20 the situation which has developed in the past two years in Israel = and the=20 Occupied Territories has had a far-reaching and negative impact on = the=20 lives of Palestinian and Israeli children.

For every child = killed,=20 many more have been wounded, maimed or disabled. Since the = beginning of=20 the intifada until the end of August 2002, some 7000 = Palestinian=20 children were injured in attacks by the IDF and Israeli settlers = and=20 hundreds of Israeli children were injured by armed Palestinians.=20 Palestinian and Israeli children who have survived or witnessed = explosions=20 or other attacks, including some in which their relatives or = friends were=20 killed or injured, have been traumatized in such a way that they = may never=20 recover. In the Occupied Territories Palestinian children have = frequently=20 been exposed to life-threatening situations, as the IDF routinely = use F16=20 fighter jets, Apache helicopters, tanks and armoured personnel = carriers to=20 bomb and shell densely populated refugee camps and other civilian = areas.=20 Israeli children living in settlements in the Occupied Territories = have=20 been exposed to the dangers of mortar and shooting attacks by = Palestinian=20 armed groups on settlements and on roads leading to settlements.=20

Scores of Palestinian children have also been arrested by = the IDF,=20 held incommunicado without access to their families and subjected = to=20 torture or ill-treatment, and thousands have had their homes = demolished by=20 the IDF. The closures, curfews and other restrictions on the = movement of=20 people and goods imposed by the IDF on Palestinian towns and = villages=20 throughout the Occupied Territories have also had a grave impact = on the=20 daily lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children, = curtailing=20 their access to education and medical care.(36) These measures = have=20 resulted in a sharp loss of income in virtually every Palestinian = home and=20 food shortages which have resulted in an increase in malnutrition, = anaemia=20 and other illnesses. (37)

CONCLUSIONS AND=20 RECOMMENDATIONS

The cases presented in this report are = only a=20 sample of the hundreds of documented cases of killings of = Palestinian=20 children by the IDF and of Israeli children killed by Palestinian = armed=20 groups. They illustrate a pattern of increasing disregard by all = the=20 parties involved in the conflict for the right to life of the most = vulnerable members of the Israeli and Palestinian civilian = population.=20

Respect for human life must be restored. Only a new = mindset among=20 Israelis and Palestinians can prevent the killing of more children = -- a=20 mindset that values each childs life, whereby all those involved = in the=20 conflict behave according to the fundamental principles of = humanity=20 enshrined in international law.

Amnesty International=20 calls:

On the Israeli government:
- To honour = its=20 commitment as a state party to major international human rights = treaties,=20 including the CRC and the ICCPR to respect the right to life of = all=20 children and to act in their best interest.
- To order its = armed forces=20 to respect international human rights standards governing the use = of force=20 and firearms, not to resort to the lethal use of firearms unless = it is=20 strictly unavoidable in order to protect life and when less = extreme means=20 are insufficient, and to make every effort, in accordance with=20 international standards, to exclude the use of firearms, = especially=20 against children.
- To take prompt and concrete measures to = put an end=20 to reckless, random and disproportionate fire by the IDF at = residential=20 areas and to ensure that IDF operations are not carried out in a = manner=20 that recklessly puts children and other civilians at risk of death = and=20 injury.
- To ensure that thorough and impartial investigations = are=20 promptly carried out into the killing of every child by the IDF or = by=20 Israeli settlers, that the findings of these investigations are = made=20 public and that those responsible for such unlawful attacks are = brought to=20 justice in fair trials.
- To allow the UN Special Rapporteur on = extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions to visit Israel and = the=20 Occupied Territories.
- To ensure that its security forces also = take=20 prompt and effective action whenever Palestinians are attacked by = Israeli=20 setters in the Occupied Territories.
- To ensure that children=20 throughout the Occupied Territories are allowed prompt and = unhindered=20 access to medical care.

On the Palestinian = Authority=20 (PA):
- To honour its stated commitment to abide by = international=20 human rights treaties, including the CRC and the ICCPR.
- To = exercise=20 all possible efforts to take effective action in order to prevent = anyone=20 under its jurisdiction from attacking or otherwise endangering the = safety=20 of children or any other civilians.
- To ensure that thorough = and=20 impartial investigations are promptly carried out into the killing = by=20 Palestinians of every child, that the findings of these = investigations are=20 made public and that those who commit, order or assist in such = unlawful=20 attacks are brought to justice in fair trials.
- To use every=20 opportunity they have to address Palestinian public opinion, = notably via=20 the Palestinian and Arab audiovisual and other media, to condemn = in=20 unequivocal terms the killings by Palestinians of children or any = other=20 civilian in Israel or in the Occupied Territories and to reiterate = its=20 commitment to enforcing the provisions of international law = concerning the=20 absolute prohibition of attacks on civilians and especially = children.=20

On Palestinian armed groups:
- To put an = immediate end=20 to the targeting of children or any other civilians in Israel and = in the=20 Occupied Territories.

On the leadership of all = Palestinian armed=20 groups:
- To publicly and unequivocally condemn all attacks = on=20 children and other civilians.
- To instruct all those under = their=20 command or influence not to attack children or other civilians = under any=20 circumstances and make clear that such attacks will not be=20 tolerated.

Amnesty International also calls on:
- = The=20 international community to take every opportunity to urge the = Israeli=20 government and the PA to act in the best interests of all = children, in=20 particular to respect childrens right to life.
- States who = provide=20 military equipment, including spare parts for military equipment, = to=20 Israel to demand effective and enforceable guarantees that such = equipment=20 will not be used by the IDF in a manner that leads to the unlawful = killing=20 of children or other civilians.
- States who provide military=20 equipment, including spare parts, to the PA to demand that they = give clear=20 orders and exercise control to ensure that weapons are not used in = carrying out unlawful killings of children and other = civilians.
- All=20 states to prevent any military assistance to Palestinian armed = groups that=20 contributes to attacks on children and other = civilians

Amnesty=20 International also reiterates its call on the international = community to=20 take concrete action with a view to sending international monitors = to=20 Israel and the Occupied Territories and to work resolutely to = persuade the=20 Israeli government to accept the presence of international = observers. The=20 organization believes that if international observers had been = sent to=20 Israel and the Occupied Territories when it first called for them = in=20 October 2000, their presence may have saved the lives of Israeli = and=20 Palestinian children and other = civilians.

********

(1) On 29=20 September 2000, Israeli security services killed five people = (following=20 the controversial visit by the current Prime Minister Ariel Sharon = - who=20 at the time was a Member of the Israeli Knesset [Parliament] for = the Likud=20 Party - to the Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif, one of most = important=20 sites for Muslims and Jews) in excessive and unlawful use of = lethal force.=20 Protests quickly spread to Israel, all parts of the West Bank and = Gaza and=20 developed into an uprising against Israeli occupation of the West = Bank=20 which continues to the present day and which has become known as = the=20 al-Aqsa intifada.

(2) According to the UN Convention on the = Rights=20 of the Child (CRC), and most other international standards, a = child is=20 anyone under the age of 18. Amnesty International also uses this=20 definition.

(3) Palestinian armed groups which have claimed = responsibility for attacks in which children have been killed = include=20 Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, and the Popular = Front=20 for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

(4) This report = focuses on=20 the period since the start of the al-Aqsa intifada at the end of = September=20 2000 until the end of August 2002.

(5) See previous AI = reports,=20 notably. Broken lives - A year of intifada, 2001 (AI Index: MDE=20 15/083/2001); The heavy price of Israeli incursions, April 2002 = (AI Index=20 MDE 15/042/2002); and Without Distinction: Attacks on civilians by = Palestinian armed groups, July 2002 (AI Index: MDE=20 02/003/2002).

(6) Among those killed on 30 September 2000 = was=20 12-year-old Muhammad al-Dura whose killing was recorded by a = cameraman for=20 the French television channel France 2 and broadcast by television = stations worldwide and which sparked anger and fuelled further=20 demonstrations and clashes; see Broken lives - A year of intifada, = 2001,=20 (AI Index: MDE 15/083/2001); page 15.

(7) During the first = 10 days=20 of the intifada a Palestinian child citizen of Israel was also = killed in=20 Israel by Israeli security forces who used excessive lethal force = against=20 demonstrators. See Broken lives - A year of intifada, 2001 (AI = Index: MDE=20 15/083/2001), pages 23 to 27.

(8) See B(Tselem(s report: = Whitewash,=20 The Office of the Judge Advocate General(s Examination of the = Death of=20 Khalil al-Mughrabi, 11, on 7 July 2001. Case Study 13, issued in = November=20 2001.

(9) According to military experts, a grenade launched = from an=20 M203 at an opponent through a window would kill or injure not only = the=20 opponent, but anyone else in the room. Grenades are designed to = cause=20 damage to a target area, but when used at greater distances in = densely=20 populated areas, they recklessly endanger the lives of the = civilian=20 population.

(10) Dr Samer, a veterinary working with the=20 Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) was hit by the = first IDF=20 tank round and injured by four bullets in the lower back while = driving his=20 car from Jenin market to his home, which is near the Ghazawi = brothers'=20 house.

(11) During its operations, the IDF forced = Palestinians to=20 serve as "human shields", making them enter or approach houses = where there=20 might be armed Palestinians or explosives.

(12) Testimony = of Tahani=20 Assad (Ali on B(Tselem(s website: http://www.btselem.org/

(13) = A=20 total of 36 Israeli children were killed in 2001 (nine in the = Occupied=20 Territories and 27 in Israel) and none were killed in the period = of 29=20 September 2000 until the end of 2000.

(14) Amnesty = International,=20 Israel and the Occupied Territories and the Palestinian Authority: = Without=20 distinction: Attacks on civilians by Palestinian armed groups, = July 2002=20 (AI Index: MDE 02/003/2002).

(15) Target: Israeli children. = Ministry of Education, State of Israel, April 2002.

(16) = Target:=20 Israeli children. Ministry of Education, State of Israel, April=20 2002.

(17)