2022 Becomes The Deadliest Year For Palestinian Children

2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in over 15 years.

Israel has just announced a new government including far-right extremists who support more illegal settlements and anti-Palestinian violence.

Israeli forces and settlers killed at least 54 Palestinian children in 2022, including at least 35 in the occupied West Bank and 19 in occupied Gaza.

Across the West Bank, Israeli forces have wounded at least 958 Palestinian children and
arrested over 750 Palestinian children.

One of the youngest Palestinian children killed in the occupied West Bank this year was Rayan Suleiman.

He died near Bethlehem of apparent cardiac arrest after soldiers chased and threatened to arrest him for allegedly throwing stones, family say. He was seven years old.

Benjamin Netanyahu is returning to power as Israel’s PM — now in a coalition with far-right parties led by settlers.

One is Itamar Ben-Gvir, who harassed Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem and got convicted of racist incitement in 2007. He is set to lead Israel’s police.

Anti-Palestinian violence by Israeli settlers is often facilitated or supported by Israel’s army, says the UN.

There were 660 settler attacks in 2022, including on Palestinian schools, homes, and farms.

Of the few attacks, Israeli police investigate only 3% leading to punishment.

Israeli settlers killed at least 4 Palestinians in 2022.

In June, an Israeli settler stabbed a 27-year-old man named Ali Hassan Harb to death while he was defending his land from a group of settlers trying to set up an illegal outpost. Israel closed the case, claiming it was self-defense.

In December, two Palestinian brothers were “deliberately” run over by an Israeli settler while they were changing a tire on their car, reports Wafa.

Mohammed and Muhannad Mutair were running errands for their sister’s wedding. Israel has not announced any charges or arrests.

Netanyahu is putting Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right Jewish supremacist, in charge of military units that control most of the occupied West Bank.

An ex-Israeli army analyst says this will lead to more:

• illegal settlements
• killings of Palestinians
• “accelerated annexation”

Israel already has 250+ illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, where it demolished the homes of at least 928 Palestinians this year.

Palestinians there:

• live under Israeli military law
• face near-daily military raids
• are surrounded by 700+ checkpoints/obstacles