The recent arrest of Wadie Maswadeh, a 5-year-old Palestinian child by the Israeli military has caused outrage around the world. The Israeli soldiers arrested the child for allegedly throwing a rock, even though the arrest of anyone that age is a violation of Israeli law. After the arrest, the child was threatened and the child’s father was handcuffed and blindfolded. Etyan Buchman, a spokesman for the Israeli military, responded to the outrage declaring: “This is conduct that was considered reasonable by all military personnel involved.”
Many human rights activists who have watched the video, such as Bill Dores, hold a different opinion.
In 1991, Israel ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child. Though Israel has signed this international treaty, the U.N. has often criticized Tel Aviv for violating the rights of children.
In 2012 The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child said that Israel had committed “gross violations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.” The committee went on to say that Israel had carried out “The destruction of homes and damage to schools, streets and other public facilities that gravely affect children.”
Sharon Eolis, a retired Jewish nurse residing in New York City, saw the rights of children being violated when she visited Gaza in 2006.
Many people feel that the recent arrest of a Palestinian child is simply the latest in Israel’s continued disregard for rights of children.
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