Mourn all the Innocent

Response to Chicago Sun-Times' "Mourning all the lost Julias" Since the death of Israeli civilians in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinians has been acknowledged, there must now also be recognition of the innocent Palestinian children, women and men who have been killed by Israeli settlers and military (“Mourning all the lost Julias,” Dec. 11).

Since 2000 more than 620 Palestinian children under the age of 18 have lost their lives at the hands of settlers and soldiers. In 2004 Khalid Mahir Walwil, 6, was shot in the back by an Israeli soldier while on the second floor of his house in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus.

Earlier this year, Israeli anti-personnel shells, which throw out thousands of metal darts in a deadly cloud that rips apart everything it encounters, killed seven children between the ages of ten and 17 in a strawberry field in northern Gaza. Mohammed, 12, his two brothers and three cousins were all victims. A settler man once beat to the ground a 15-year-old Palestinian girl while on her way to school. Another time, 20 young Israeli settlers attacked an 11-year-old Palestinian girl, whose suffered inhuried when a rock hit her neck.

Mourning the victims of this conflict is a must, but let us remember to mourn all of them. This includes remembering the countless Khalids, Muhammeds and innocent Palestinians lost.