GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — During the United Nations Security Council’s meeting on children and armed conflicts Aug. 2, the world body failed to include Israel on its "list of shame" — which includes countries committing dire abuses against children — despite figures and statistics mentioned in the June report of the Office of the UN Secretary-General on promoting and defending the rights of children in armed conflict zones.

The report said that 2018 witnessed the highest rate of killing and wounding of children since 2014 in the Palestinian territories; it stated that 59 Palestinian children were killed and 2,756 were wounded that year. The report noted that the Israeli army and settlers were responsible for violence against children in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. 

According to the report, 203 children were detained in Israeli prisons, and most of them are under administrative arrest, without trial. Until the end of December 2018, according to the report, 87 children remained in Israeli prisons based on a judicial order and are facing tough detention conditions.

Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour, who attended the Aug. 2 UNSC meeting, was disgruntled and shocked that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres did not include Israel on the list of shame. Speaking before the Security Council, he said Israel’s ongoing unethical and inhumane practices are due to the fact that it enjoys international immunity that protects it from sanctions and accountability.