UN Envoy visits Palestine to investigate Israel violations against children

The Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba de Potgieter, will begin an official visit, on Monday, to the Occupied Palestinian Territories to investigate Israel’s “violations” against the Palestinians, especially against Palestinian children.

The Palestinian official News Agency, Wafa, quoted the political advisor to the Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Al-Deek, as saying that de Potgieter’s visit will continue until 16 December and will include the Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

During her visit, de Potgieter will meet with the families of Palestinian child victims, to observe in the field the grave violations that amount to war crimes committed by the Israeli Occupation Forces against Palestinian children, he said.

He explained that the UN Envoy “will submit a report to the Secretary-General in light of the testimonies she will obtain from the victims’ families and from her meetings with Palestinian officials”.

He pointed out that the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has recently issued two reports in which he used “clear statements regarding the violations of the occupying power against Palestinian children, and hinted that he would place Israel and its army on the list of shame, as a result of the continuation of these violations”.

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A statement by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, issued on Sunday, said the UN Envoy’s visit “comes in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations in New York”.

The visit includes a meeting with Prime Minister, Muhammad Shtayyeh, high-level representatives of the government and other representatives of national institutions and specialists to discuss the ongoing violations and crimes against the children of Palestine.

According to United Nations data, the Israeli army has killed 15 Palestinian children during “search and arrest” operations across the West Bank since the beginning of this year until 21 November.