The ongoing betrayal of Palestinian children
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| A Palestinian teacher escorts school children during an Israeli military operation in the village of Al-Yamoun, near the West Bank city Jenin, December 20, 2005. |
The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, dispossession of Palestinian land and properties and discriminatory policies in Israel have hit Palestinian children hard. Recent research of the Palestinian Counselling Centre (PCC) has conclusively established that the wall has had a profound negative impact on the mental health of Palestinian children1 and created a major obstacle to them obtaining an education.2 In this article, Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker examine certain violations of children's rights caused by the formation of the State of Israel and following Israel's occupation since 1967 and further explore their social and psychological impacts on children.
Long-term impacts of violence
In an appeal for donor support in 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that almost fifty per cent of Palestinian children in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have directly experienced violence or witnessed violence affecting a family member.3 In a document about children in situations of armed conflict of 1986, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) came to the conclusion that:
"... war has an all-embracing impact on a child's development, on his attitudes, his experiences of human relations, his moral norms and his outlook on life. Facing armed violence on a continuous basis creates deep-rooted feelings of helplessness and undermines the child's trust in others."
Well-respected researcher Raija-Leena Punamaeki is also quoted in the UNICEF study, drawing on her comprehensive research of Palestinian children and coming to a shocking conclusion: "Socialisation of children to desirable moral values is impossible in a beleaguered society".
Ongoing violence towards children
Writing about Palestinian children who have been hurt by war and occupation is depressing. It is clear that for generations children have paid a particularly high price for this. Children who experienced the war in 1948 and witnessed the 1967 war are the parents, grandparents and possibly great-grandparents of today. Millions of Palestinian children have become homeless, refugees, displaced and orphans.
After 1967, children have, in addition, experienced daily the effects of the Israeli occupation. Israel's illegal policy of encouraging and financing Jewish settlers to live in the occupied Palestinian territories has brought even more anxieties. As documented by numerous Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights organisations as well as United Nations organisations and some governments, settlers who have received military and financial support from the Israeli occupation authorities have threatened and attacked Palestinian children. Israel is directly responsible for their illegal behaviour.
The perspective of an eyewitness from the village of Al-Nahalin was quoted in a United Nations document, which is mentioned in the study of the Division for Palestinian Rights:4
"From the outset the settlers have been provoking the inhabitants and now the village is like a virtual prison. The settlers, of course, have the support of the authorities. .... When they find children they beat them, and chase them. ... All the complaints addressed to the authorities and to the settlers themselves have remained futile." (sic)
The UN document makes clear that Palestinian children are made to feel inferior by the settlers who were far better off economically. Settlers are furthermore permitted to "defend" themselves with firearms, provided by the Israeli government. Settlers also benefit from a legal system that is not impartial.
Even a 1988 report by the United States Government5 described a discriminatory legal system prevailing in most of the Occupied Palestinian Territories:
"Jewish settlers in the occupied territories are subject to Israeli law while Palestinians are subject to Israeli military occupation law. Under the dual system of governance applied to Palestinians and Israelis, Palestinians are treated less favourably than Jewish settlers in the same areas on a broad range of issues, such as the right to legal process, rights of residency, freedom of movement, sale of crops and goods, land and water use, and access to health and social services."
"Iron fist" policies
In the eighties, Israel's "iron fist "and "strong-arm" policies increased, leading to considerable loss of life and widespread injuries of children as well as violent interference with their universal rights to personal security, family, education and health.
In many different and tragic circumstances, most of which were fully avoidable had Israel respected human rights and the rules of engagement provided by international humanitarian law, countless Palestinian children have been killed or severely wounded.
For example, thousands of Palestinian children have been killed while travelling in a vehicle that did not stop for questioning by soldiers; during military or security agency operations where a family member was arrested; playing with explosives left behind (deliberately or through negligence) by the Israeli military; stepping on a mine; or during a raid on a school or participating in a demonstration that was met with Israeli military gunfire. There are accounts of soldiers beating and kicking children as young as 12 years old, either in prison, or in full view, outside on the street. Children have also been killed, kidnapped and beaten by settlers.
In each of these well-documented examples (there are many more), the fundamental right of children to personal protection was violated.
During this period the mental health of children has also become an urgent concern. Mental health professionals have documented a massive increase in psychiatric disorders amongst Palestinians.
Home demolitions in the Naqab In a recent press release, Physicians for Human Rights wrote that home demolitions in the Naqab (Negev)6 are a source of serious trauma for children. Physical trauma is particularly caused by the current weather conditions of cold weather and rain. Demolitions also cause profound emotional trauma that is intensified during Muslim celebrations, such as the sacred Eid al-Adha. The press release stated: "Home demolitions are under the cover of 'unlicensed construction', when their real intention is to traumatise the residents". For children, this violent act implies not only the demolition of their homes but also of their lives, and will instil in them a destructive drive.7
On Wednesday, 18 January 2006, the Regional Council for Unrecognized Villages in the Negev warned about the recommendations of the Israeli National Security Council (NSC), which will be presented in the Herzliya Sixth Conference the following week. The NSC suggested that Palestinian Bedouins be forcefully evacuated in a campaign that can be compared with evacuation of the settlers from Gaza Strip. The population of the unrecognised villages is estimated at 80,000; 50 per cent is under the age of 18. However, unlike the settlers who illegally occupied land not belonging to them, Palestinian Bedouins are the indigenous residents of the Negev who lived on their land long before the establishment of the State of Israel.
An attack on a home is an attack on a child
Destroying the homes of children, the sealing-off of homes or rooms and the blocking and sealing-off of streets is a collective punishment. Apart from the fact that it is a serious violation of international humanitarian law, it also has a devastating psychological impact on Palestinian children. A safe and secure home is a basic need for every person. As Qouta and El-Sarraj have noted:
"When families witness the destruction of their own homes by enemy soldiers, the psychological effects can be serious. Loss of home can be a traumatic experience for not only the material loss but for psychological meaning. The home means the shelter and heart of family life. It contains memories and pain as well as attachment to the families' objects. Home is associated with feelings of security and consolation."8
Qouta and El-Sarraj studied a substantial amount of data on the severity of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms among children in the Middle East. Displacement from home especially led to increased depression among Lebanese children during the 1982 invasion and among Israeli children after the Iraqi shelling in 1990. Any attack by military forces on the homes of children is a major trauma in the life of a child.
Between 1967 and 1987, hundreds of houses were destroyed. This made children extremely vulnerable as it was not permitted to rebuild homes. According to UNRWA, between October 2000 and January 2004, 3,062 homes were completely or partially demolished and 2,524 homes needed repair in the Gaza Strip following attacks by the Israeli military. It has been confirmed by Defence for Children Palestine that there were 1,037 house demolitions in the occupied territories in 2003. In 2004, a staggering 1,471 families in the West Bank and Gaza lost their homes following attacks by the Israeli military, affecting the lives of almost 5,000 children.
Attacks on Palestinian homes and home demolitions are a regular activity of the Israeli military. In its weekly report of the week of 8 January 2006, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights reports that numerous houses were raided and 94 Palestinians were arrested, including 11 children. Six houses and a shop were transformed into military areas by the Israeli army.9
Accumulation of frustration and rage
A 1990 study from the Division for Palestinian Rights notes that:
"By the late 1980s, two generations of Palestinian children had grown up under military occupation. The children of 1967 had become adults and their children experienced the accumulated pain of a generation enduring a childhood under military occupation."
The first Intifada that started in 1987 gave children the opportunity to clearly express their rejection of the occupation -- its humiliation and deprivation. During the first year of the Intifada, 32 children under the age of ten were reported to have lost their lives. The number of children injured also rose sharply. After a year, thousands of Palestinian children under the age of 15 were recorded as having suffered injuries due to systematic beatings, exposure to tear gas and gunshots by live ammunition as well as plastic and rubber-coated metal bullets. Many injuries led to permanent disability.10
Since the beginning of the second Intifada (Al Aqsa), Israel has killed 749 children, 22 per cent of the overall death toll. Of the Palestinians injured, 42 per cent are children.11
The incapacity of the international community to develop adequate policies that hold Israel to account and stop the harm done to Palestinian children is heartbreaking. Rather than protect vulnerable Palestinian children, as they are legally and morally obliged to do, the powerful Israeli government can count on the protection and assistance of Europe and the United States. In the next section of this article, we speak of Israel's and the international community's legal responsibilities towards Palestinian children.
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| Israeli soldiers confront Palestinian school children during a protest at a checkpoint that the children have to cross daily on their way to school in the old city of Hebron December 5, 2005 |
In 1988, following a visit to the occupied Palestinian territories, the US-based non-governmental organisation Physicians for Human Rights gave a warning.
"When parents are unable to protect their small children, and children are repeatedly exposed to scenes of beatings and bloodshed, the consequences may be profound and long-term. On one level, children try to adapt: in the villages we saw five-year olds playing with their collections of rubber bullets and shell casings, and other children, their hands protected by pieces of paper, gleefully carrying expended tear-gas canisters. In a refugee camp, we noticed a two-year old carefully clutching an onion wherever she went. Asked why, the mother explained: 'It's for protection when she goes outside, she thinks it helps when there's tear gas.' Thousands of children are at risk of chronic anxiety and irritability, childhood depression, sleeplessness and nightmares, and disturbances of maturation."12
There is a risk that Palestinian children who grow up under violence will perceive their parents and adults as being unable to protect them. This psychological reaction is a direct threat to the relationship between a child and their parents. The impact of violence caused by the occupation on children can be life long. It can distort their outlook on life, which will not only influence their lives, but also those of future generations.
Israel is legally obliged to protect Palestinian children
In 1990, the Division for Palestinian Rights prepared a thorough study on the situation of Palestinian children in the occupied territories for the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.13 This study is very clear about the obligations of an occupying power - Israel - to ensure the protection of children.
"International humanitarian law provides general protection for children as persons taking no part in hostilities, and special protection of persons who are particularly vulnerable. Moreover, children taking part in hostilities are also protected. .... According to articles 27 and 32 of the fourth Geneva Convention children, as all civilians, shall be treated humanely, free from coercion, corporal and collective punishment as well as with respect for their life, physical well-being and moral integrity."
Specific reference is made in the fourth Geneva Convention towards the legal protection of children under the age of 15 years. On the basis of articles 46 and 50 of the Hague Convention of 18 October 1907 and articles 33 and 53 of the fourth Geneva Convention, the Division for Palestinian Rights concludes that:
"Destruction of property such as homes and collective punishment have been considered unlawful from the earliest attempt to provide international legal protection for civilians, including children."
The fourth Geneva Convention is very explicit about this in article 33, which states: "No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed." In the Advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice in 2005, the obligation of Israel to comply with these obligations in international human rights and humanitarian law was reaffirmed.14
Policies without action
Israel's violations of human rights and humanitarian law ought to immediately generate a response by the international community. A report by the Canadian Peace-building Coordinating Committee in December 2004 stated:
"Awareness has been raised about the impact of war on young people. But the reality is that millions of children still lack protection for their security and basic rights in situations of armed conflict. Implementation is key; political leadership is needed to make the transition from principles and policies to action on the ground."15
At a conference in Denmark on 2 November 2005, Mr Michael Matthiessen, Personal Representative of the EU Secretary General/High Representative for Human Rights, spoke of the European Union's guidelines on children and armed conflicts, including that: "The EU will consolidate, strengthen and advance EU actions for children affected by armed conflicts through its variety of tools for action, such as diplomatic channels, humanitarian assistance, crisis management operations and training efforts."16
Unfortunately, as the Canadian report declared, political leadership continues to be seriously lacking in the implementation of these policies with regard to the protection of Palestinian children.
International action urgently needed
In 2000, at the occasion of the annual children's celebration, Nelson Mandela spoke the following words:
"As you all know, this young generation is very close to my heart. They are special not only because they are vulnerable, and are the first to suffer whenever we adults get things wrong, but also because of their remarkable spirit, their ability to heal not only themselves but their societies as well. That is why I find it extremely painful when I see children being dehumanised because of war, civil strife, hunger, and disease."17
For how long will the international community continue protecting Israel? What will it take before it finally shifts its attention to protecting Palestinian children? For those not intimately connected with the events in Palestine, it is almost impossible to imagine how the world has been able to turn a blind eye for so long to their pain and suffering.
The generation hardest hit by the violence of the Israeli military forces during the first Intifada was raised by parents who suffered during the 1967 war, and who are the parents of children that are witnessing the current violence of the occupation through the Wall, expansion of settlements, house demolitions, administrative detention and countless other human rights and humanitarian law abuses.
Are we going to wait for another generation to be hurt by the Israeli military forces?
The current violence will definitely have an impact on children. The pain is building up and there is no prospect for conditions improving in the near future to start dealing with that pain. The international community is taking a tremendous risk by ignoring its responsibility to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international humanitarian law and human rights.
Adri Nieuwhof is a psychologist. Jeff Handmaker is a human rights lawyer. Both are independent human rights advocates and advisors, based in The Netherlands.
Endnotes
[1] The Wall and the psychological impact on children, Adri Nieuwhof (24 October 2005)
[2] The Wall - an obstacle to educating Palestinian youth, Adri Nieuwhof and Jeff Handmaker (8 November 2005)
[3] See Health Sector Needs Assessment (PDF)
[4] UN Document A/41/680, annex III, p. 53
[5] United States Department of State, Country reports on human rights practices for 1988", p 1385
[6] See also This is our land, we are not going to move, Adri Nieuwhof and Bangani Ngeleza (8 January 2006)
[7] Arab Association for Human Rights
[8] Samir Qouta, Eyad El Sarraj, Prevalence of PTSD among Palestinain children in the Gaza Strip (PDF) Arabpsynet Journal (No 2 2004)
[9] Weekly report on human rights violations (PDF) Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (2006)
[10] J.A. Graff, M. Boulby, Palestinian Children and Israeli State Violence, Toronto, Near East Cultural and Educational Foundation of Canada, April 1989
[11] Children, PTSD, and the future of Palestine, GCMHP (6 April 2005)
[12] In Palestinian Children in the Occupied Territory, Division for Palestinian Rights (31 March 1990)
[13] Ibid
[14] BY TOPIC: One year on, The illegality of the Wall
[15] The Responsibility to Protect Children: An International Policy Priority, Children and Armed Conflict Working Group, Canadian Peacebuilding Coordinating Committee (December 2004)
[16] How can the International Community improve child protection? Implementation of the EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflicts (CAAC), Responsibility to Protect Children in Emergencies, Copenhagen (2 November 2005)
[17] Speech by president Nelson Mandela at the Annual Children's Celebration 2000, Nelson Mandela Children's Fund.
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