Save the Children and the Middle East Quartet have expressed growing concerns about the situation of increasing violence in East Jerusalem. The consequences of these tensions were most notably felt last Wednesday, when a 16-year-old Palestinian boy was killed at Nablus after allegedly having been shot in the back by Israeli forces who were watching the entrance of the Odala village. At the time, a group of people in the area was reported to have been protesting against recent raids by Israeli personnel.
Palestinians who live in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood have expressed their disappointment against forced evictions of families from their homes, and reports of violence in the area have increased; since mid-April two hundred people, including several children and Israeli settlers, have been injured in the clashes. The Middle East Quartet is alarmed by what it refers to as provocative statements made by certain political groups as well as new rocket and incendiary balloons strikes from Gaza to Israel, while also expressing concerns regarding reports of attacks on Palestinian farmland in the West Bank. In response to such rocket strikes by Hamas on Israeli territory, the Iraeli Defense Forces resumed bombing operations in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday: during these strikes 24 Palestinians, including 9 children, reportedly lost their lives.
Save the Children’s Country Director in Palestine, Jason Lee, declared that all parties involved should engage themselves in the protection of children in accordance with international law, and stated that Israeli authorities should conduct a thorough investigation concerning the death of the boy at Nablus. For their part, the Middle East Quartet reaffirmed their commitment in aiding the search for a negotiated solution between the involved parties. Furthermore, they called upon the leaders of the Israeli forces to avoid measures that would incite further violence in an already particularly tense period, which they note is taking place at the same time as the sacred Muslim days of Ramadan.
To read more, please visit:
Joint Press Statement of the Middle East Quartet Envoys - occupied Palestinian territory | ReliefWeb
Funerals held in Gaza as Israel renews air raids: Live news | Al-Aqsa Mosque News | Al Jazeera
Jerusalem: Many injured on second night of clashes
Author: Sara Taherzadeh – Editor: Maxime Grenier
