Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi on Sunday accused Israel of “deliberately targeting and killing Palestinian children”.
Her comments came after two teens were killed when a half-constructed high rise they were in was hit by an Israeli missile launched after a barrage of rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel.
The IDF said the building was being used by Hamas for military training.
In addition, Gazan officials claim another teenager was shot and killed by Israeli forces as he participated in the violent riots along the Gaza border on Friday.
"Israel is deliberately targeting and killing Palestinian children. Such a brutal and criminal campaign against the people of Gaza is allowed to persist by the international community's inaction and American collusion with the military occupation. The targeting of public places and playgrounds constitutes a war crime and violates international law and international humanitarian law,” said Ashrawi in a statement quoted by the Wafa news agency.
“As long as the world remains silent, Israel's systematic campaign of brutalizing and terrorizing innocent Palestinians will only continue,” she charged.
“We urge all members of the international community, as well as all relevant organizations, to intervene immediately and to exhibit the moral and political courage necessary to put an end to Israel's unlawful and immoral behavior and to adopt punitive measures and sanctions. Failure to provide protection for the Palestinian people will lead to further escalation and result in more bloodshed," said Ashrawi.
Since March 30, Arabs have been holding weekly violent riots along the Gaza border and have been using kites and balloons with explosives attached in order to set fire to Israeli property.
The thousands of balloons and kites carrying incendiary and makeshift explosive devices have sparked hundreds of fires and caused millions of dollars in property damage inside Israel.
The so-called “March of the Return” protests have been openly encouraged by Gaza’s Hamas terrorist rulers.
The demonstrations peaked on May 14, when at least 62 Gazans were killed as thousands approached the border fence in protest at the U.S. decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem. Hamas openly admitted, however, that most of those killed were members of the group.
Meanwhile, Saturday’s air strikes in Gaza came after Gaza terrorists fired a barrage of more than 200 rockets toward southern Israel. One of the strikes targeted a building that allegedly served as a “Palestinian library”, but in reality had been used by Hamas as a training facility for urban warfare, techniques to take over buildings and tunnel survival.