It was with deep sorrow and sadness that we received news of the brutal killing of the child Amal Al-Jamali after she was severely beaten by her father yesterday in Gaza, which led to her death without mercy or compassion.
At the Palestinian Center, viewing with grave concern the recent increase in incidents of violence against children and women, we call on those responsible to:
Review the laws regulating child custody and visitation and the family law in order to protect children, along with all policies and circulars issued by the Higher Sharia Judicial Council, in a way that guarantees the best interests of the child and genuine protection.
Review the procedures of the judicial police and police stations when receiving complaints about violations against children, violence against them, and denying them access to one of their parents.
The Legislative Council must enact deterrent laws against those who commit crimes against children, whatever their relationship to them, and increase the penalties against such offenders.
We call on the Ministry of Social Development to expedite the provision of a safe house for child victims of violence, and we call on international and national organisations to cooperate and intensify efforts for genuine child protection, away from slogans and conventional, ineffective activities that have failed to provide a minimum of protection for children from any violence or abuse.
Finally, we call on everyone to move beyond condemnation and denunciation of this painful incident towards practical action to adopt a comprehensive national plan in which all child-justice actors cooperate, foremost among them the Ministry of Social Development, the judiciary, the Public Prosecution, the police, international and national organisations and reconciliation committees, in order to reduce violations against children and women's rights and to ensure genuine protection for children and women from violence and abuse, away from formalities and appearances. At the Palestinian Center we express our full readiness to take the initiative and to cooperate with any party in order to press for the adoption of these policies and procedures, which would help reduce violence against children and women.
Our children and our women deserve a better life, and they deserve our cooperation, solidarity and work for their rights and for justice and protection.
Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution
Gaza, 10 July 2020
