Israeli raids: Palestinian children grow up in fear and anxiety

Israeli forces often conduct raids on Palestinian land. At this time they frighten the common people in various ways. Additional force is applied. For these reasons, Palestinian children are growing up with fear and anxiety, according to a report by The Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP) Movement.

The organization has documented the testimonies of young people living in Jenin, Palestine, who have been hit and injured by Israeli forces.

Jenin is a Palestinian refugee camp in the northern West Bank. It was established in 1953 with an area of 0.42 sq km. In 2002, the Jenin camp was also severely affected by the Second Intifada. The Israeli Defense Forces occupied the camp after the Battle of Jenin. At least 400 homes were destroyed, with hundreds more severely damaged. More than a quarter of the population became homeless. The Israeli army conducts frequent raids there.

According to the report, 17 children have been killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of the year. Their actions are having a significant impact on other children.

The Defense for Children International Palestine Movement says Israeli forces' operations are affecting Palestinian children's behavior, thinking and academic performance. This threatens their psychological and social security.

Six of the 17 children killed by Israeli forces this year are from Jenin. Israeli soldiers use children as shields during operations. Besides, many children were detained for long periods at various times. According to the report, these issues have greatly affected the children.

In the words of a 17-year-old Palestinian youth, 'When I was going to school in the morning with my classmate Mahmoud al-Saadi (17), the Israeli army attacked the camp and started shooting from all sides. We were planning to graduate school together, go to university and study together, but that all fell through.'

A 16-year-old said, 'Invaders raids in the camp have become routine. The army enters at any time, so I can't leave the house anymore. I fear army raids when I am out of the house.'

DCIP director Khaled Kuzmar said the Israeli military's excessive use of force has left Palestinian children with a sense of security and lack of confidence in the future.

He said, 'Children live with despair. For example, a child in Dhesheh camp was seen walking around with a will written on a piece of paper in his pocket, because he was afraid that he would be in the wrong place at the wrong time and might be killed.'

Kuzmar said the 17 children killed by the Israeli army were not a security threat to them. They were killed while doing their daily work.

He added that when a child returns to school and finds a bouquet of flowers on the seat of a classmate killed by the Israeli army, it leaves a deep psychological impression on them.

He said that Palestinian children in areas of repeated military action, such as the Jenin camp and Dhesheh refugee camp, needed psychological support sessions. Because life has become worthless to them.

Another 17-year-old youth said that people are martyred in every campaign. Shots were fired and houses and properties were destroyed. He says bullets entered the wall of our house. Danger haunts me even when I am in bed. If you want to go inside the house, you have to crawl. Death is far more merciful than these fears and worries.'

The young man said, I have not been able to sleep normally for more than a year. Sometimes I wake up to the sound of gunshots and explosions and other times I wake up to nightmares. Can't tell the difference between dream and reality.

Another 15-year-old said he was saturated with images of martyrs and that behind every martyr there was a story and a memory. Through the windows of the house, I saw youths who were injured by the occupants' bullets bleeding to death and also saw the completely burnt bodies of the martyrs.

"Our teacher Jawad Bawakna was killed by the occupying forces," he said. He was our closest teacher.'

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