New York, June 23 (QNA) - The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child warned that Palestinian children are being left increasingly unprotected as human rights defenders and humanitarian organizations are forced to halt or reduce their work in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Gaza and the West Bank.

In a statement, the committee condemned in the strongest terms "Israel's recent repressive tactics of labeling human rights defenders and other civil society organizations as terrorists."

These tactics have been coupled with military raids, travel bans, personal financial sanctions, threats of arrest, destruction of records, and even threats of secondary sanctions against partners who support their work, making it increasingly impossible for these organizations to operate safely or protect the children and families who turn to them for help, the statement continued.

The committee expressed deep concern that organizations supporting children on the ground are forced to halt or reduce their operations due to ongoing harassment, threats, bans, sanctions, and attacks on their reputation, adding that for more than three decades, these organizations have played a vital role in defending Palestinian children, including before the military occupation courts, and in documenting the grave violations to which Palestinian children are subjected by the occupation forces.

Without these organizations, Palestinian children will be even less protected, and violations of their rights risk continuing with impunity, the committee emphasized. It called on Israel to immediately lift all restrictions and obstacles facing child rights defenders and humanitarian organizations in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Gaza and the West Bank, and to allow them to carry out their work safely and independently.

It also urged the international community to use all available means to hold Israeli authorities accountable for attacks and repression targeting Palestinian human rights defenders, and to prioritize the lives and rights of Palestinian children.

The committee said, "despite grave risks and limited resources, child rights defenders have continued to stand with Palestinian children and families in extraordinarily dangerous conditions. They must be protected, not punished." (QNA)