UN human rights officials called on Israel to immediately release a terrorist who stabbed and attempted to murder another child during the "stabbing intifada" in 2015.
Ahmad Manasra was 13-year-old when he and his 15-year-old cousin stabbed and seriously wounded a 13-year-old Jewish boy and a 21-year-old man. Manasra's cousin was shot and killed following the attack and Manasra was struck by a car and injured while fleeing the scene. He was arrested and convicted of two counts of attempted murder. His sentence of 12 years in prison was later reduced to 9.5 years.
Last month, Israel refused to grant Manasra, who is now 20-years-old, an early release.
The UN "experts" said that “Ahmad’s arrest and detention happened over a span of time which is absolutely critical for the emotional, intellectual and social development of a child. In all actions concerning children, the best interest of the child must be a primary consideration. In violation of this fundamental principle, the overriding consideration in this case appeared to be Israel’s focus on containing whoever they label as terrorism threats."
“The gut-wrenching scenes of a child with broken bones lying on the ground under a barrage of insults and threats shouted by armed adults in a foreign language; of that very same boy being spoon-fed by unfamiliar hands while chained to a hospital bed and then violently interrogated in breach of human rights norms and principles concerning arrest and detention of a child, continue to haunt our conscience,” they said.
The "experts" never acknowledged that Manasra had committed the heinous attack for which he was convicted or addressed the human rights of his victim, who was also a child at the time.
Shai Glick, director general of the B'Tsalmo organization, responded: "Instead of embracing the victims of the attack to visit them and check whether they have recovered or are still suffering from PTSD, the UN chooses to take care of the terrorist who tried to murder children an an extremely cruel manner. We intend to appeal to the UN to acknowledge the victims of the attack, and of course we demand that the Israeli government reject the UN demand emphatically. We will continue to care for the human rights of the citizens of Israel."