United Nations keeps Israel off ‘list of shame’

The United Nations on Monday released a "list of shame" of children's rights violators and did not include Israel, despite an outcry over the death of more than 500 children during the Gaza war last year. Rights groups had called on Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to add Israel to the list, and there was much debate among U.N. agencies before the final decision, which rests with the U.N. chief. Ban decided that last year's list would remain unchanged but said he was "deeply alarmed" by the "grave violations suffered by children as a result of Israeli military operations in 2014." "The unprecedented and unacceptable scale of the impact on children in 2014 raises grave concerns about Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law, notably the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution in attack and respect for international human rights law, particularly in relation to excessive use of force," he said. He cited a "dramatic increase" in the number of children killed in Israel and in the Palestinian territories in 2014.   Al Jazeera