YDD –  the situation of Young Jerusalemites in light of the recent attack on the city of Jerusalem

Since the fourth of October,  and after the Martyrdom of the youngster Muhannad Al-Halabi inside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, the Israeli occupation authorities initiated a series of daily punitive action targeting Jerusalemite youngsters with the intentions of eliminating any possible acts of resistance and popular  reactions to the occupation of the city ; in addition; to exploit the general tense situation to pass resolutions aiming at changing the geo-demography of the city through settlement expansion.

14 martyrs from the city of Jerusalem and its suburbs, out of which four under the age of 18. The Palestinian Red Crescent in its latest statistics refers to 54 cases of injures by live ammunition, 284 rubber-coated bullets, and 527 suffocated by tear gas.

One cannot turn a blind eye to the deliberate targeting of students in the city of Jerusalem, where students are labeled as enemies by the Israeli Occupation Authorities. Moreover; in the past two weeks inhumane scenes terrorized Jerusalemites as the Israeli Occupation forces intentional started targeting school students with live ammunition as they left for their schools with the most recent of the cold-bloodedly field execution of two students Mustafa al-Khatib, 18 years, and Hassan Manasra, 15 years, and the live ammunition injures of Marah Bakir, 17 years, and Ahmed Manasra, 13 years old with severe head injuries.

Today, as a policy, the Israeli occupation forces were granted the permission to shoot live ammunitions on any suspects in the city both youth and children. In addition; settlers acquisition of arms is encouraged by Israeli officials, especially after the Secretary of Homeland Security to the Israeli government approved a set of decisions that facilitates the Israeli’s process for licenses to carry weapons; moreover; approval of body inspection to Jerusalemites was also approved. On the other hand; the incitement to kill Palestinians continues by many Jewish religious figures.

On daily basis,  and due to movement restrictions 86738 students registered in 197 schools[1] face threats on their lives while commuting to their schools from the old city and its surrounding neighborhoods and vice versa. This was aggravated by the recent Israeli security cabinet locking down east Jerusalem neighborhoods infringing upon the freedom of movement of all Jerusalemites, erecting checkpoints that became an Israeli recipe for harassment and abuse. As a result schools had to suspend teaching for eight days in the past two weeks

What is shocking is the high rate of arrested children and students since the beginning of October. As of Saturday 17/10 the number of detainees reached 230, out of which 60 are under the age of 18 years. While detained and in the cellars of the investigation children are subjected to psychological and physical abuses, and if released are subjected to home detention.

In such circumstances, the Youth Development Department would like to pay its tribute to the active role taken by the Palestinian society, the Jerusalemites institutions, and the different community actors within the city that fosters and enhances the steadfastness of the youngsters through active provision of psychological and material needs of Jerusalemite families. We would also like to take this opportunity to invite them to intensify their presence today in the city, while, demanding a greater part by the Palestinian Authority in supporting families of martyrs and prisoners. Moreover, stressing on the important role of the international community in providing protection for Palestinian youths and children against the occupation forces unlawful and exacerbating the punitive policy.