63 Palestinian children killed since 2015: Govt body

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – A total of 63 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli forces since 2015, according to a government statistical institution.

In a statement Sunday, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said Israeli forces have rounded up 2,634 minors last year.

“Around 1,260 Palestinian minors were also detained in the first four months of 2016,” it said in the statement that marks the occasion of the UN Universal Children’s Day.

The statement said that around 400 Palestinian minors are still languishing in Israeli jails.

On Saturday, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said at least 350 Palestinian children were still held in Israeli jails.

According to official estimates, children make up around half of the 4.6-million Palestinian population in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The statistics bureau said that around 2,500 Palestinians have been displaced due to the Israeli policy of demolishing homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem on the pretext of lacking permits.

Palestinians accuse Israel of waging an aggressive campaign to "Judaize" East Jerusalem with the aim of effacing its Arab and Islamic identity.

Sacred to both Muslims and Jews, East Jerusalem is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which for Muslims represents the world's third holiest site.

Jews refer to the area as the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two prominent Jewish temples in ancient times.