651 Palestinian children killed
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651 Palestinian children were killed by Israel during the last 3 1/2 years, many of them while on their way to school or returning home.
GAZA, April 5-- Palestinian Health Minister Jawad Al-Tibi said
Monday that 651 Palestinian children were killed by the Israeli army
during 42 months of the Intifada (Uprising).
Al-Tibi made the statements to the press on the occasion of the
International Day of the Palestinian child.
The killed Palestinian children, out of the total 3,045 Palestinians
killed since the outbreak of the Intifada on September 2000, were
aged below 18, he said.
"This death toll includes the victims killed by the Israeli army
shelling, helicopters and military airplane bombings, as well
Israeli army's random and intensive use of fire against Palestinian
civilians," he said.
Many of the children were killed while on their way to school or
back home, and more than 30 new born babies died while stranded at
the Israeli military checkpoints established all over the West Bank
and Gaza Strip, he added.
He added that 21 Palestinian children, 16 from the Gaza Strip and
five from the West Bank, were killed by the Israeli army during the
month of March 2004.
These Israeli practices are a flagrant violation of the 4th Geneva
Convention, he asserted.
The minister, meanwhile, called on the United Nations and the World
Health Organization to intervene to avert the deteriorating
situation in the Palestinian territories.
