Who's to blame for deaths of children fighting in Palestine?
Palestinian children are dying in armed operations against Israeli settlers, despite calls to prevent them from getting involved in the violence.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Taha al-Qatanani said he was expecting just an ordinary day as his daughter headed out the door early Nov. 22. He had no way of knowing she would never return.
"I thought Ashraqat was going to school when she left the house," he said of his 16-year-old daughter, who was killed that day at the Huwara checkpoint south of Nablus after allegedly trying to carry out a stabbing attack against Israelis.
Commenting on recent controversy over children participating in the Palestinian resistance, he said, "It is hard to stop the youth from doing what they have in mind — even if their plan goes against the will of their parents. It is difficult to control them."
He told Al-Monitor, “I was against engaging children in these operations and allowing them to go to checkpoints, and I publicly declared my position on mosque pulpits during Friday sermons. But after Ashraqat died, I found myself obliged to abide by her choice and defend the heroic act that she committed."
