Palestinian children are vulnerable and at high risk of abuse as human rights defenders and humanitarian organizations are forced to suspend or scale down their work in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Gaza and the West Bank, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has warned. In a statement, the committee strongly condemned Israel’s repressive tactics of branding human rights defenders and other civil society organizations as terrorists. Military raids, travel bans, personal financial restrictions, threats of arrest, and sanctions against partners who support their work have made it impossible for human rights organizations to safely carry out their humanitarian work. The committee expressed deep concern that organizations supporting children in the region have been forced to suspend or scale down their services due to ongoing harassment, intimidation, restrictions, sanctions and attacks on their reputation, noting that these organizations have played a role in protecting Palestinian children for more than three decades.

The Committee stressed that without the activism of these organizations, Palestinian children would be vulnerable and the risk of their rights being violated with impunity would be high. It also called on Israel to immediately lift all restrictions and obstacles faced by child rights defenders and humanitarian organizations in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Gaza and the West Bank, and to allow them to carry out their work safely and freely.

The Committee also urged the international community to use all available means to hold Israeli authorities accountable for attacks and repression targeting Palestinian human rights defenders and to prioritize the lives and rights of Palestinian children.