“O me! for why is all around us here
As if some lesser god had made the world,
But had not force to shape it as he would,
Till the High God behold it from beyond,
And enter it, and make it beautiful?”
In Alfred Lord Tennyson’s 19th-century epic poem, Idylls of the King, King Arthur struggles with the existence of imperfection, suffering, and evil. He moans, questioning if the physical world was created by an inferior, flawed "lesser god" who possessed good intentions but lacked the power to make it perfect.
According to medieval folklore, when his knights betrayed him and his utopian vision collapsed, King Arthur still held onto the hope that the true, supreme deity -- the High God -- would eventually intervene from heaven, enter the world, and restore it to ultimate beauty and perfection.
In 21st-century civilization, thousands of Palestinian children appear to be the creations of 'some lesser god,' with no 'High God' yet in sight to rescue them.
Arthur possessed a magical sword, Excalibur, which protected him from bleeding or dying in battle. Palestinian children, however, have nothing to shield them from the genocidal acts of Israel.
Our modern-day "Excalibur"-- the United Nations Security Council, the General Assembly, and other multilateral global instruments -- appear too weak and polarized to take a stand. They are collectively failing these "children of a lesser god," as a chilling report from a UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry revealed in late June this year.
The Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel detailed in its latest report how Israeli authorities and security forces have deliberately targeted Palestinian children. These actions have resulted in genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in the Gaza Strip, alongside war crimes in the West Bank.
The Commission, which concluded in 2025 that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians, found in its June 23, 2026 report that the intense scale and systematic nature of Israeli military operations have continued -- resulting in unprecedented death, injury, and trauma for Palestinian children.
“The evidence shows that Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by the Israeli security forces,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, Chair of the Commission.
Justice Muralidhar, a distinguished Indian jurist and former judge famously known for his unwavering defense of civil liberties during the 2020 Delhi communal riots, further stated: “Even after the October 2025 ceasefire, children continue to be killed and seriously injured, with continued disregard by Israel for the ceasefire and for the protection owed to Palestinian children under international law.”
Severe physical and mental injuries, mass trauma, orphanhood, separation, disability, repeated displacements, starvation, and the collapse of education and healthcare have erased childhood. These factors will continue to affect children in Gaza throughout their lives, the UN Independent Commission’s report notes.
It narrates how Palestinian children have been arrested and subjected to torture and other severe forms of mistreatment in Israeli prisons and detention facilities, often with no information provided regarding their whereabouts. Israeli security forces have also used sexual violence against children as part of collective shaming and oppression, entrenched within a prolonged, ethnic, gendered, and intergenerational pattern of Israeli occupation and hostilities.
“Even if the bombs and guns fall silent in Gaza and the West Bank, Palestinian children will not simply recover overnight,” said Muralidhar. “The destruction of their health, education, and development is irreversible.”
By targeting children, Israel is eroding the foundational structure of Palestinian society, weakening its demographic vitality, and undermining the overall capacity of the Palestinian people to sustain and exercise their right to determine their future.
“The protection, care, and survival of Palestinian children are inseparable from the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination,” said Muralidhar. “By targeting children, Israel is attacking the very capacity of the Palestinian people to exist and to determine their future.”
While the Commission has fulfilled its mandate, a massive question now confronts the world community: Are we doing anything proactively to leverage these chilling findings? Are we pressuring Western governments to take firm action against the perpetrators? Are we demanding justice and an immediate, total halt of weapons transfers to Israel?
The Commission calls for Israel to cease committing violations and crimes against Palestinian children. However, Israel dubbed the UN Independent Commission report a “libelous sham” and a “propaganda piece.” It is plain and simple: we cannot expect any acknowledgment of offenses from Israel.
Yet, the most unfortunate part of this entire episode is seeing that the world largely overlooks the atrocities committed against Palestinian children. Even this latest report has failed to stir enough uproar to activate the powers that matter to seek redress. It is disappointing, to say the least.
The Commission calls for an end to Israel’s continuing presence in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in compliance with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice. Its report also identified specific military units within the Israeli security forces responsible for the killing and injuring of Palestinian children, offering recommendations to Israel and to all Member States to ensure accountability for such crimes.
What disappoints most, however, is seeing the international community missing in action. World leaders are doing very little to nothing to uphold their international legal obligations. By default, they are contributing to the erasure of childhood in Palestine and denying justice to these "children of a lesser god" for far too long.
While the UN-mandated commission’s report has ignited intense global diplomatic debates and fueled civil society campaigns, it has not yet triggered immediate, unified state-level action. These diplomatic discussions must culminate in real actions -- actions that will give Palestinian children much-needed respite and rekindle humanity’s hope for, in Tennyson’s words, a High God’s entry to make the world beautiful again.
Reaz Ahmad is Editor, Dhaka Tribune.
