On "Arab Children's Day"... the children of Palestine demand a life without siege..

Palyouth Dozens of Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip participated in a demonstration on the occasion of “Arab Children’s Day” in front of the United Nations headquarters in Gaza City, to demand their rights in light of the Israeli siege on the Strip, which has continued for the 17th year in a row.

The children participating in the protest, which was organized by the Child Protection Network (a local institution), raised banners reading: “We have the right to live like the rest of the children in the world,” “Starving the children of Gaza contravenes the most basic human rights standards,” and “No to threatening the food security of children in the Gaza Strip.”

Nadine Abdel Latif, the children’s spokeswoman, said: “The message of the children of Palestine on Arab Children’s Day is to live in freedom and safety, without siege, wars and killing. We, the children of Palestine, live without rights, and we want to live like the children of the world, and get education and treatment.”

She added: “We are more than a million Palestinian children living in the Gaza Strip, suffering from an unjust siege that has been going on for seventeen years. We are denied treatment and medicine, cut off our electricity, and are deprived of enjoying our most basic rights to live a safe and dignified life, guaranteed to us by international conventions and international humanitarian law.” ".

The child, Sarah Mushtaha, said: “I was born while Gaza was under siege, and I did not know the meaning of freedom since my birth. Today, I am 12 years old, and I came to demand the right of the Gaza Strip and its residents to freedom, and to tell the world, Save us from the recurring conflicts and wars we are experiencing.”
The child, Yara Khaled, said: “We live in constant fear and without security, and I demand to live in freedom and security, and I hope that my message reaches the world.”

Statistics indicate that the Israeli army has killed 43 Palestinian children since the beginning of this year, and the number of child deaths since 2000 has reached 2,259 children., and the number of Palestinian children who were arrested during the same period reached more than 20 thousand children, and according to the Prisoners’ Affairs Commission, more than 170 children are still alive. They are still languishing in Israeli prisons, making them vulnerable to methods of psychological and physical torture, and the demolition of schools and harassment by settlers have affected about 50,000 Palestinian children.

PALYOUTH . J.R