Mohammad Balhan

‘No way to treat a child’: Talk on Palestinian children this Sunday

You are invited to hear about the daily lives of Palestinian children at 2pm on Sunday 16 April at the White Rock Hotel from speakers for Defence for Children International (DCI). Katy Colley writes.

Ayed Abu Eqtaish and Miranda Cleland from DCI-Palestine (Defence for Children International) are visiting Hastings as part of a national speaking tour to bring attention to the experiences of children living under apartheid.

Gill Knight of the Hastings & Rye Palestine Solidarity Campaign (HRPSC) which is hosting the event said: “Palestinian children are disproportionately impacted by Israel’s policies of apartheid. Whether it’s experiencing the trauma of having a family home demolished or suffering separation from parents and loved ones whilst being tortured in military detention, Palestinian children are forced to endure what no one should.”

Defence for Children International is a worldwide movement for children’s rights active across the five continents.

Event poster

Just this week 15-year-old Mohammad Fayez Balhan was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp in the West Bank where he lives. He is the 18th child to be killed by Israeli forces this year alone.

“Systemic impunity creates an ultra-permissive context where Israeli forces know no bounds and routinely shoot to kill Palestinian children in circumstances where there is no imminent threat to life,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP.

“Unlawful killings of Palestinian children have become the norm as Israeli forces become increasingly empowered to use intentional lethal force in situations that are not justified. In short, these are war crimes with no consequence.”

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