The United Nations is set to include Israel on its “list of shame”, the annual list of countries and armed forces that have failed to protect the rights of children in armed conflict, according to diplomatic sources. The controversial move has drawn furious reactions from Israeli officials.
“I am utterly shocked and disgusted by this shameful decision,” Israel’s ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan stated. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the UN of putting “itself today on history’s blacklist” by adopting “the absurd claims of Hamas.”
“The IDF is the most moral army in the world and no delusional decision by the UN will change that”, he wrote, referring to the IDF.
The Palestinian representative, Riyad Mansour, praised the designation as “an important step” toward accountability while expressing unhappiness that it could not “bring back the lives of children killed or left permanently disabled in Israeli military attacks.”
According to sources, the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad will also appear on the annual “Children and Armed Conflict” list for violating child rights.
Human Rights Watch praised Israel’s inclusion as “thoroughly justified, albeit long overdue”, while also supporting the listings of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.
Israeli officials have strongly rejected the allegations, with Erdan suggesting the listing will only further incentivize Hamas to use civilians as human shields.
