1) Two perspectives on the case of Israel being add to a UN list of states which harm children in war
Israel has finally been added to a UN list of countries which harm children in armed conflict. Al-Jazeera reports an episode when the Israeli ambassador to the UN recorded the phone call in which he was informed about this and posted his words about Israeli having “the most moral army in the world” on social media:
Earlier today, the Chef de Cabinet of the United Nations secretary-general, Courtney Rattray, gave Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan a courtesy call to inform Israel that it will be added. Though the report itself is due to be shared with Security Council members on June 14, it is tradition that the UN gives courtesy calls to notify newly added countries in advance and avoid leaks.
Erdan recorded that phone call and shared part of it on his social media, prompting a rebuke from the secretary-general’s spokesperson.
“Ambassador Erdan’s video recording of that phone call and the partial release of that recording on Twitter [X] is shocking and unacceptable, and frankly something I’ve never seen in my 24 years serving this organisation”.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/7/un-adding-israel-to-blacklist-of-countries-harming-children-in-conflict
The Guardian reports the same story:
Erdan said he had been notified of the decision by the chief of staff to the UN secretary general, António Guterres, and he gave his response in a video on social media.
“I am utterly shocked and disgusted by this shameful decision of the secretary-general,” said Erdan. “Israel’s army is the most moral army in the world, so this immoral decision will only aid the terrorists and reward Hamas.”
There was no immediate comment from Guterres’s office on the list.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/07/united-nations-israel-children-rights-violation
However; there is no mention here that the Ambassador recorded the phone call from António Guterres in a clear case of intimidation. This may be a lack of knowledge, though it seems somewhat surprising if so. To be fair it was the Guardian who broke the story about Israel trying to intimidate the ICC.
This seems an appropriate point to refer to how many children Israel has killed in the West Bank recently. 101 killed in 2023 up till November 30 and since October 7 2023 “at least 63”. [1] Many of these children are shot, dead, for throwing stones at armoured vehicles. Even more shocking; in some cases they are shot after throwing stones, while they are running away, i.e. as a punishment for daring to throw stones at the army of occupation. [2] They pose no conceivable military threat to Israeli soldiers. They are clearly killed as part of a policy of complete dominance of the situation. This is not “riot control”. It completely amazes me that my government (the UK) and the EU simply turn a blind eye to this, continue to supply weapons and sign preferential trade deals (which in the case of the UK do not exclude the illegally occupied West Bank). The media silence on this does contrast quite markedly with the loud media coverage about, for example, children being “kidnapped” in Ukraine.
Notes
- https://www.savethechildren.net/news/least-101-children-killed-west-bank-year#
- https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/06/occupied-palestinian-territory-turk-condemns-over-500-west-bank-killings (UN) : The ISF has often used lethal force as a first resort against Palestinian protesters throwing stones, incendiary bottles, and firecrackers at ISF armoured vehicles, in cases where those shot clearly did not represent an imminent threat to life.