| [ 03/11/2010 – 10:49 AM ] |
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RAMALLAH, (PIC)– Defense for children international (DCI) organization-Palestine section documented 38 incidents of settlers’ violence against Palestinian children that happened during the past two years and resulted in the death of three of them and the injury of 42 others. In a report entitled “under attack,” DCI said that the incidents of settlers’ violence are part and parcel of the daily life for Palestinian children, especially those who are living close to settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. The report affirmed that the settler’s acts of violence are marked by verbal abuse, physical harassment, intimidation and destruction of property. In 13 of the incidents, settlers opened fire, killing three children and injuring another 10. Physical assault and intimidation was also reported in 15 cases, and stone throwing in another nine incidents. Cursing and verbal abuse was documented in all these reported acts of violence, according to the report. In eight cases, soldiers colluded with the attackers by either joining in, turning a blind eye or punishing the victims rather than the perpetrators, DCI found out. Incidents of violence tended to be concentrated in certain areas, where 21 attacks carried out in and around the southern city of Al-Khalil city, and another seven near Nablus in the north, close to the Yitzhar and Bracha settlements, areas where settlers adhere to extremist and violent ideologies. “Continued settlement expansion and a growing settler population in the occupied territory have severely impacted the security of the Palestinian population, particularly children, whose lives are increasingly threatened by willful attacks perpetrated by extremist settlers,” DCI said. The DCI study also found that Israel’s failure to enforce the law and hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions had “created an atmosphere in which settlers enjoy impunity and Palestinians live in fear.” In another context, Maariv newspaper reported that the Israeli police command decided to impose hefty fines on the parents of Palestinian children detained on suspicion of throwing stones at settlers’ vehicles. The newspaper said Tuesday that the fines would amount to 5, 000 shekels, about $1, 400, in order to reduce what it claimed as the phenomenon of throwing stones at settlers. In a separate incident, the Israeli regional council in the occupied Syrian Golan area declared its intention to encourage more Israeli settlers, especially the young men, to move to live in the settlements there. Head of the council Eli Malka said that in recent years, 1, 250 Jewish families have been absorbed into Golan settlements and the council is working on attracting more settlers to live in these settlements and building more educational and health institutions inside them. |
DCI: 38 incidents of settlers’ violence against children occurred in two years.