Palestinian children still on the front line of Israeli occupation, says Sinn Féin's Chris Hazzard

Sinn Féin's Chris Hazzard MP has called on the international community to take action against the ongoing abuse of the basic human rights of children, following a meeting with Palestinian Solidarity Campaign in London on Wednesday.

The South Down MP said:

“Today I met with the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign to express solidarity with the suffering of Palestinian children. Sadly, the issues have not changed since a meeting between myself and the Palestinian Minister of Education in the West Bank in 2015.

“The Palestinian areas of Gaza and the West Bank are sites of military occupation, human rights abuses and state criminality.

“Some of the most flagrant of these breaches of international law concern Palestinian children.

"Thousands of children have been injured as a result of the occupation, and the refusal of Israel to support the UN Safe Schools Declaration continues to put the lives of innocent young people at risk in areas where they should be safest.

“Moreover, reports of the increasing number of children arrested and charged without trial by the Israeli government are disturbing and cause for great concern.

“Children as young as eleven have been held captive without trial. Israel currently detains some of the youngest child prisoners on earth.

"This is child abuse of the gravest order and is contrary to the UN convention of right of the child, which is being violated on a daily basis.”