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Not many people in the world know what the lives of Palestinian children are like, how insecure we feel at home, and what we experience every day because of the Israeli occupation.
I grew up in the village of Nabisalih in the occupied West Bank. When I was seven years old, I started to use my mother’s phone to shoot movies about our lives and share them on social media and news media.
In my movies, I try to show what our daily life looks like. Night raid-wake up at 3 am in the sound of a gas tank, explode near your window, or the Israeli army is trying to break into your house. I even woke up once and found an Israeli soldier in my room, breaking my toy with his gun. He continued to use his weapon against my head.
This week, world leaders will meet at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, and the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting will be held in Geneva. This is an excellent opportunity for the international community to end its silence on the abuse faced by Palestinian children. Israel is violating our rights and violating international law with impunity.
Our most basic rights and freedoms, including our right to life, are being violated. We often work hard to overcome the sadness, stress, loneliness and fear caused by excessive use of force against us, against our families, schools and families. My friends in Gaza are afraid of being the target of Israeli bombs every day.
My cousin Mohammad Munir al-Tamimi was murdered on the last day of Eid al-Fitr this year.
Israeli soldiers attacked our village, and soon they started shooting everyone they saw on the street. When Muhammad walked out of the house to look for his brother, a soldier hit him in the abdomen with live ammunition. He is only 17 years old.
We mourn the loss of friends and relatives, but we are still strong. Every bullet that did not kill us will give us more hope and let us resist this occupation more firmly.
Israel is the only country in the world that frequently arrests, detains and tries children in the military court system.
My cousin Ahed Tamimi was sentenced to eight months in an Israeli prison when she was 16 years old. She was there with many other women and children. Some people are in “administrative detention”-which means they may be held in prison for many years without any official charges or trial.
Palestinian children detained in Israeli prisons face great trauma. Because of everything they have experienced, even after release, many people will not be able to enjoy their childhood again.
When I was only 12 years old, I was stopped at the border returning from Jordan and interrogated by the Israeli army for three hours. I am not accompanied by my parents or lawyers, so the interrogation is illegal under international law. But they don’t care.
After this happened, I decided to register as a journalist. Soon, I became the youngest journalist with a press card in the world. Getting certified provides me with some protection. But, of course, journalists are often arrested, wounded and even killed in Occupied Palestine.
Today, I will speak as a witness at a public hearing organized by the NGO ActionAid and Al-Haq. I will talk about some violations of human rights and international law faced by Palestinian children. Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language reporter Givara Budeiri, who was violently arrested by the Israeli army while covering a peaceful demonstration in the Sheikh Jala community in occupied East Jerusalem in June, will also be there to talk about Israel’s news Free attack. Other witnesses will testify about the forced relocation of Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah and the theft of land and natural resources in the Jordan Valley.
At the same time, the UN Human Rights Council calls on member states to cooperate fully with its investigation committee to investigate violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in the occupied Palestinian territory. The investigation is long overdue. The international community cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the suffering of the Palestinians.
Like all children, Palestinian children have the right to be safe at home and at school. They have the right to be free from harassment, violence, arbitrary arrests and attacks by Israeli soldiers and settlers.
But despite all the difficulties we face, I am full of hope for the future. We are a generation of change, and I hope they can liberate Palestine. We will make the world a better place, a place where there is no occupation or colonization, where everyone is equal, and where Palestinians can live in freedom and dignity. But we cannot do this alone-the international community needs to end its silence and stand with us in our struggle against oppression.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
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