Ramallah, 06-03-08: The Israeli attack on Gaza launched from Wednesday 27 February to Monday 3 March killed more than 120 Palestinians. Palestinian and international sources confirmed that 31 children had been killed, and are investigating 13 more reported child fatalities. Dr. Barghouthi MP, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, declared “this horrendous death toll clearly highlights Israel’s contempt for Palestinian lives, even children. These deaths are war crimes.”
Among the dead children were a 20-day-old baby, a 5-month-old baby, and a group of children playing football. Even more alarming, four children were shot dead by Israeli snipers, three of them inside their house. Dr. Barghouthi stated that “these are wilful killings of children, a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Israeli soldiers who killed these Palestinian children must be brought to court and face criminal charges”. It is the duty of the high Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to uphold it and force Israel to respect it.
Dr. Barghouthi concluded “the Israeli siege on Gaza – a blatant and extreme collective punishment – must be lifted and individual States, especially European Union member States should consider prosecuting Israeli individuals who have taken part in these crimes through their universal jurisdiction competence under international law”.