According to a Ynet report this morning, (Thursday) Israeli officials are afraid that Israel will appear on the UN's "black list" that currently features eight countries and organizations that target children in conflict zones across the world.
Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, is slated to present a special report next month. Officials believe that alongside groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and others, Israel will also appear on her list of groups intentionally harming children in conflict zones. According to the Ynet report, Israel is working behind the scenes to correct the numerous distortions on the report.
The report states that Israel was slated to appear on the list as early as last year, but that UN ambassador Gilad Erdan organized a visit by UN officials that included talks with former Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi.
The countries and organizations included in the list are not subject to immediate sanctions, but the main concern is that if Israel is included, another window for promoting international initiatives against it, such as boycotts of commercial or security companies, will be opened.
