UN Threatens to Include Settlers on the Blacklist

SadaNews - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of the possibility of including groups of settlers on a global blacklist due to violations committed against children, expressing concern about the staggering rise in the number of violations against Palestinian children.

The annual report of the international organization on (children and armed conflict) recorded the martyrdom of 2,668 children in the Gaza Strip and 57 in the West Bank.

The report indicated that there were 38,558 serious violations recorded worldwide in 2025 affecting 24,174 children, a record high since the establishment of the Committee on (children and armed conflict) in 1996.

Data showed that 14,224 children were killed or injured with disabilities, marking a 34% increase from 2024 in the number of fatalities to 6,266.

A senior UN official stated in a briefing on the report, "The countries that recorded the highest levels of violations in 2025 are the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Myanmar, and Somalia."

Israel is already listed among the so-called appendices of the shame list in the report due to violations, but the latest version highlights settlers for the first time as potentially being added to the list in the future.

Guterres stated in the report, "I am horrified by the scale of the serious violations committed against children in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel, particularly the widespread use of explosive weapons in populated areas."

He added: "I am deeply concerned about the staggering rise in attacks carried out by settlers, leading to serious violations against Palestinian children."

He said that settler groups should be included on the list if the large number of violations is repeated in 2026.

The report noted that 9,465 serious violations were attributed to the occupation army and 326 to settlers.

The report defines serious violations as including the killing and maiming of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and attacks on schools and hospitals.