Ramallah: Human Rights and Democracy Media Center- SHAMS, strongly condemns the murder of child Muhammad Al- Bayed (17 years old) on Friday 21/7/2023, in Um Safa Village- Ramallah, by the Israeli army. Martyr Al- Bayed was shot dead in the neck and the head while participating in a peaceful assembly protesting against confiscating parts of the village’s land to build illegal settlements.
SHAMS Center reported that the crime is a clear manifestation of the Israeli policy of intentionally killing and execution of Palestinian children by the Israeli soldiers. The Israeli army murder crimes are motivated by direct instructions from both the military and political leadership of the occupation’s state that decided to apply excessive force against all peaceful assemblies of Palestinians. The Israeli authorities decided to attack any efforts of Palestinians to protest against confiscating their lands, for the sake of building and expanding the Israeli illegal settlements and squeezing Palestinians life and denying them the right to access their lands.
SHAMS Center affirms that the murder crime of child Al- Bayed is a profound violation of the international human rights law and, particularly, violation of Geneva Fourth Convention. Geneva Fourth Convention protects civilians, especially children, under armed conflicts, where, according to the given Convention, children are protected for being civilians and not being involved in the conflict. Additionally, the crime is violation of the United Nations Convention on Child Rights and all other human rights conventions and treaties.
SHAMS Center denounces the international community silence regarding the daily crimes of the Israeli occupation against Palestinians, especially the systematic murdering of children. While the international capitals of decision- making, receive the political and military leaders of the occupation’s state and celebrate the joint values of democracy that are common between these countries and the occupation state, the oppression and terrorism mechanism of the occupation proceeds in killing armless Palestinian children. Palestinian children are killed under the eyes of the international community that does not move a finger to end the occupation’s crimes. Not only that, but also the Arabic countries are opening their doors for the political and military leaders of the occupation who are received on the red carpets. Within this warm welcoming of the Israeli military and political leaders, the Israeli occupation responds with escalating the crimes and execution acts against Palestinian children.
SHAMS Center affirms that the international coverage of the occupation’s state and providing impunity for the Israeli war criminals, who feel that they are safe from any legal pursuing in front of the international courts, is the reason that undermines the Israeli crimes against Palestinian children. The international community’s coverage of the Israeli occupation crimes is clear interpretation of the applied double standard policies of some countries in dealing with the international issues, though they claim that they are the guarantors of the international law and that they urge for protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms.
SHAMS Center urged the Special United Nations Rapporteur on children rights, as well as UNICEF and all international human rights organizations, to lobby the Israeli government and press on it to end its crimes against Palestinian children. SHAMS Center calls upon the countries guarantors of Geneva Fourth Convention and the countries that ratified Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, to ensure that the Israeli war criminals would not escape punishment, in order to deter them and ensure that they would not commit further crimes against Palestinian children.