Children shot, stabbed and pepper-sprayed in occupied West Bank

“We're seeing attacks become increasingly coordinated,” UN Children’s Fund ( UNICEF ) spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva. “Documented incidents include children shot, stabbed, children beaten, and children pepper-sprayed.”

Some 70 children have been killed since January 2025 – at least one on average every week – and a further 850 injured, mostly by live ammunition, UNICEF says.

“All this comes amid historic levels of settler attacks,” Mr. Elder continued, explaining that March 2026 saw the highest number of Palestinians injured by settler attacks in the last 20 years.

Bludgeoned by attackers

Following a recent West Bank visit, the UNICEF spokesperson described meeting an eight-year-old who had been beaten with a piece of wood in a settler attack and hospitalized for head injuries.

The boy’s mother “had both her arms broken when she reached across to protect her four-month-old baby, putting therefore her arms between her…