Ambassador Danon: Children should not live under constant fear of terror

"Life in Israel’s southern population centers has been abruptly halted on numerous occasions due to the violent attacks coming from the Gaza Strip."

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon speaks during the United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including Palestine, at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., December 18, 2017 (photo credit: REUTERS/BRENDAN MCDERMID)
Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon speaks during the United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including Palestine, at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., December 18, 2017
(photo credit: REUTERS/BRENDAN MCDERMID)
In a letter addressed to Virginia Gamba, the Secretary General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict at the UN, Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon drew attention to the physical and psychological impact of Hamas' recent attacks on children in southern Israel.
Danon wrote about "the ongoing danger that Israeli civilians, particularly children, find themselves in" when, from May 4th-5th, "Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas terrorist groups launched over 720 rockets and mortars at Israel, killing four Israeli civilians and wounding dozens."
"Life in Israel’s southern population centers has been abruptly halted on numerous occasions due to the violent attacks coming from the Gaza Strip. Hamas continues to instigate violence against southern Israel, forcing our civilians to live under a constant cloud of fear," the letter continues. In this recent attack, "children's soccer games were abruptly interrupted both in Rehovot and Gan Yavne, when alarms went off in nearby cities where explosions were reported, and the children had to take cover on the ground."
"No nation - much less its children - should have to live under a constant fear of sudden and violent attack from a terrorist organization committed to the destruction of that nation. Israel seeks a peaceful border with the Gaza Strip, yet so long as Hamas continues to fan the flames of conflict rather than serving its own people, violence will override peace. It is a sad reality that these occurrences provide just a glimpse into the reality that Israel’s children face on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. In addition to any physical cost these attacks inflict, the psychological damage is far more severe."


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