How children in West Bank are being killed by Israel 'without accountability'

[luv2fly]

IDF has killed 235 children in territory since 7 October 2023 with no indictments in what activists say is ‘licence to kill’

Quique Kierszenbaum in the West Bank and Julian Borger
Mon 29 Jun 2026 09.00 BST

On the day he died, Mohammad al-Halaq had been jubilant about a new school bag he had been given in class, printed with the logo of the UN child protection and advocacy agency, Unicef.

“He was extremely happy. It was something out of the ordinary for him to be given a bag,” recalled his mother, Aliyah. “He came knocking on the door to tell me had this new bag to put pencils and pens in.”

The nine-year-old ran home then raced back to school to ask, unsuccessfully, if he could get another bag for his brother. After lunch, he went outdoors to try to catch birds in a net he had rigged up. He caught one and showed it off to his friends. Full of energy, he then wanted to go to his grandparents’ house nearby.

The al-Halaq family live in ar-Rihiya, in the hills south of Hebron, which have become notorious for Israeli settler violence abetted by an increasingly politicised army. So Aliyah was nervous about Mohammad going anywhere out of her sight, but she had to go to the shops and her son was determined, waving goodbye to her as he sprinted away. It was the last time she saw him alive.

More at:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/29/is-it-israels-aim-to-kill-our-children-west-bank-parents-implore-end-to-idfs-child-killings-with-impunity

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Robbed of their lives for... what?

Hatred.

[Celerity]

1. Israeli forces behind almost all killings of children in West Bank since 2000 Palestinian children killed annually

Israeli former PM calls on ICC to halt West Bank ‘Jewish terrorists’ after prosecutions stop

Exclusive: Guardian analysis of settler violence shows no Israelis prosecuted since 2020 for killing Palestinian civilians, as former military, police and spy chiefs describe ‘organised Jewish terrorism’

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/25/no-israel-prosecutions-for-killing-palestinian-civilians-in-occupied-west-bank-since-start-of-decade

Israel has not prosecuted its citizens for killing Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank since the start of this decade, a Guardian analysis of legal data and public records show, creating impunity for a campaign of violence.

Attacks have spurred former prime minister Ehud Olmert to call for an intervention by the international criminal court (ICC), to “save the Palestinians and us [Israelis]” from state-backed settler violence, carried out with the complicity and sometimes participation of the police and military.

“I have decided not only to not remain silent, but to draw the attention of the ICC in The Hague so that it may take enforcement measures and issue arrest warrants,’” Olmert said in written comments to the Guardian.

Dozens of former Israeli security commanders have demanded urgent action to stop “almost daily” attacks on Palestinians. In a public letter to the country’s current military chief they warned that failure to tackle “Jewish terrorism” poses an existential threat.

snip


Cut off all US funding to this rogue national government.

This I/P support inversion (wherein the VAST percentage of Dem and indie voters no longer support Israel over Palestine yet far too many Dem leaders refuse to even support conditions placed upon the billions of $$$ we toss to the pro-ethnic-cleansing Netanyahu radical government, a disastrous entity who has multiple leaders within it openly calling for genocidal actions) is a large systemic problem and plays a significant part in our Party's low approval ratings.

Evidence that a refusal to cut off support of the Israel RW government is electoral poison within our Party is seen in the rise of 'cut Israel off' primary challengers beating long term, entrenched Dem incumbents.

[Johnny2X2X]

2. Get ready for it

Get ready for the everybody targets and kills children crowd to show up to this thread, they'll be here soon claiming the only reason people are upset about these children being killed is because Israel is doing the killing.

[Orrex]

6. "Human shields blah blah blah"

"Hamas can end this whenever they want blah blah blah."

Thus continues Netanyahu's years-long campaign of deliberate civilian slaughter, while his apologists cheer him on.

[ColoringFool]

7. It would help to mitigate that argument were one to see US campuses.....

.... erupt in protests and posters after Palestinian terrorism against civilians.

Or maybe once a condemnation by the UN.

I am not making the "both-sides do it" excuse for any perpetrators. Too many victims have become victimizers since 1948. Too many children have been killed, in schools, on buses, on streets, at home, at play.

I am making the "only one side is ever criticized" observation.

Just my unpopular-as-a-Democrat opinion. And not going further in discussion.

[Johnny2X2X]

8. People were absolutely appalled at October 7th

I condemn all violence against innocents. 10/7 was horrific. But you can condemn both sides and recognize that it's 70 to 1 in terms of deaths in Gaza since October 7th.

And furthermore, in the US, you aren't going to see protests when groups the US government doesn't support at all commit atrocities since people don't feel responsibility for it. Take the ME out of it, if some country the US finances and supports kills a bunch of innocent civilians in some country in Africa, you'll see people protesting about it. If some group the US is working to stop kills innocents, no protests because it's not out government helping cause it. No one in the US was out protesting ISIS when they were wrecking havoc in the region because we knew that our government was trying to stop ISIS.

There were significant on campus protests in the 80s against atrocities being committed in wars in Central and South America where it was the US funding sides committing atrocities. If the US didn't provide $billions annually to Israel's military, and the US didn't take a side in those conflicts, I doubt many people here would care enough to protest it.

[Orrex]

10. It's weird that "only one side is ever criticized..."

Last edited Mon Jun 29, 2026, 10:35 AM - Edit history (1)

But we still give that "criticized side" hundreds of billions of dollars with no stings attached.

[Mossfern]

11. Innoculation against criticism

love it.

[3_Limes]

3. Have a lot of thoughts on this. But I just don't have the energy today to fend off the unwarrented attacks

From the (still sizeable) crew who are certain that if I'm against genocide and the meaningless murder of innocent children, then I must hate jews,. That I must be a passionate, virulent anti-semite who believes that Israel has no right to exist, and that every jew should die. (Even though that would include my family.)

So lacking the energy to deal with the onslaught today, I'll have to stay silent. At least for now.

[luv2fly]

4. When those folks self-identify...

It's a beautiful thing.

Your ignore list can grow exponentially sometimes, which makes getting getting through a day's worth of DU posts a whole lot easier.

Life is too short, why waste time with them? 👍

[3_Limes]

12. True. Must be time to grow my list.

[Scalded Nun]

5. Israel...a country committed to genocide, knowing they have the US support and the rest of the

world afraid to meaningfully confront them on their actions.

[PCB66]

9. The Israelis were never held accountable

For attacking the USS Liberty and killing 35 and wounding 170. In fact they were rewarded with billions of dollars and the US fighting their wars for them.

They are not held accountable for much, are they?