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United Nations data indicates weekly Palestinian child fatalities in occupied West Bank

The United Nations has released findings suggesting that at least one Palestinian child is killed on average every week in the occupied West Bank, with the report explicitly identifying Israeli military forces and settlers as the perpetrators.

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Adrian Cole
Political Correspondent
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Source: Al Jazeera Global News · View original source
Israel killing at least one child a week in occupied West Bank, UN says
New figures attribute average weekly deaths to Israeli military and settler groups

The United Nations has issued a report indicating that Israeli military forces and settlers are responsible for killing at least one Palestinian child per week on average in the occupied West Bank. This statistic serves as a stark indicator of the ongoing security dynamics and conflict between these groups and the Palestinian population within the territory.

The specific figure of at least one child per week represents a newly reported average calculated by the United Nations in this context. While the report provides this frequency, the source material does not specify the exact dates or months over which this weekly average was derived, leaving the precise timeframe of the calculation undefined.

The United Nations explicitly attributes these killings to both Israeli military forces and settlers, distinguishing the latter as a separate perpetrator group alongside the official military apparatus. This attribution requires careful contextualisation regarding the nature of the settlers' involvement in the violence, as the source text does not further qualify the circumstances leading to these deaths.

The term used in the report is "killed," without distinguishing between direct military action, settler violence, or other circumstances that may have contributed to the fatalities. This lack of distinction in the source text means the specific mechanisms of death remain unqualified in the available data.

The West Bank is currently designated as occupied territory, providing the geographical context for these reported incidents. The findings highlight the persistent risks faced by the Palestinian population in the region, where frequent interactions between Israeli military/settlers and local communities continue to result in significant loss of life among children.

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