Running Head: THE EFFECTS OF WAR ON CHILDREN IN THE MIDDLE EAST

​The Effects of War on Children In the Middle East

Psychological and Physical Effects of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Francine N. Williams

Global Connections

G. Falls

December 2018
THE EFFECTS OF WAR ON CHILDREN IN THE MIDDLE EAST 1

Abstract

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been ongoing for many centuries. The fight for the land by

both states has been turned into a toxic environment which is not habitable by any sort of living

thing. Due to the circumstances of war, along with the combination of the physical environment,

the children of both identities are not given the opportunity to live a standard, healthy life.

Palestinian children have to suffer from the consequences of war, while Israeli children have to

start implementing war in their daily lives at a young age. Both suffer from different adversities

but are more similar than they would think. The adversities they share have one thing in

common: it results in mental illnesses among the youth.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract 1

Table of Contents 2

Introduction 3

Literary Review 4

Discussion 8

The Beginning 8

Kids of the Gaza and Palestine 11

Kids of Israel 12

Conclusion 15

References 16

Appendix A 18
THE EFFECTS OF WAR ON CHILDREN IN THE MIDDLE EAST 3

Introduction

Imagine living in a country or place where it is normalized to anticipate being murdered,

or hurt when walking down the street. Imagine living in a country where it is conditioned that

when a child turns the ripe naive age of eighteen they will have to serve in their army. Many

children in Israel and Palestine can agree that they face at least one of the two dilemmas,

stripping them from their innocence at young ages. The ongoing conflict between Israel and

Palestine is causing long-term psychological and physical injuries to children in the Middle East.

Throughout the seventy years since the controversial conflict has started, both states

continue to foster growing tension with one another. Solving the conflict is another issue within

the issue, and is not as simple as one may think. If the resolution was a simple answer, the issue

would no longer be in existence today. Since the conflict has been first created, many other crises

have developed which adds fuel to the fire. Though disagreements in land may divide the two

ethnic groups, their non-racial minorities have at least one thing in common. The

Israeli-Palestinian conflict creates distress and panic throughout the minorities in both Israel and

Palestine’s minority: children.

Israeli children are conditioned mentally to be ready for being recruited in the army by

the time they are of legal age. One day, the pencil and the paper is soon replaced with a rifle. It

does not matter whether or not they are ready for the responsibility because they are told that

“the country is counting on them.” On the other hand, Palestinian children may not be required

by law to join the military at a young age but they witness brutality at very young ages, and may

be forced to leave their homes. This causes both ethnicities to form some unwelcoming feeling
THE EFFECTS OF WAR ON CHILDREN IN THE MIDDLE EAST 4

for each other from the second they can remember. Both scenarios are terrifying, but they are the

harsh realities that these certain children have to face on a day-to-day basis.

Limitations of Study

The author of this paper has experienced many limitations while writing this paper. The

author attends the Global Studies and World Languages (GSWLA) academy at Tallwood High

School, and therefore studies a globally open curriculum. The author studies/studied a multitude

of classes that are embedded in the standard curriculum, and are offered at no other school in her

school district. Some classes that she has studied/studies are: Arabic, Global Connections, Global

Systems, International Careers, International Business and Trade, and Global Cultures. That

being said, the GSWLA offers insight on current real world events not only in the U.S, but

around the world also. Taking the classes offered by the Global Studies and World Languages

Academy has skewed the author’s opinion on globally connected issues because of the push to

remain open-minded and to empathize when talking about other cultures, races, and countries.

These classes have also shaped the author to be more accepting of others and their cultural and

economic backgrounds. The author has also traveled to Jordan in 2016 with the academy. Aside

from the Global Studies and World Languages academy the author is enrolled in, the author also

comes from a Filipino and South African descent and was raised in the United States so she has

not experienced the same hardships as the the women of Israel and Palestine she is researching.

Another limitation is that many of the articles used throughout this research paper are by Arabs

or Israelis, and their experience first-hand. A very important possible limitation is the author’s

focus on the children of the two regions and how the conflict affects this minority directly, and

not the Israeli-Palestinian conflict itself. The author has made sure to include a mixture of
THE EFFECTS OF WAR ON CHILDREN IN THE MIDDLE EAST 5

Arab-written articles, and scholarly articles written by accredited sources, along with statistics to

support the claims written in this research paper. All of the sources used in this research paper

are critical when analyzing how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict psychologically and physically

affects children in the middle east.

Literary Review

When analyzing a puzzle piece to a highly controversial topic it is important to review

the background of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and what effect it had on the environment. It is

also as equally vital to analyze how the children in Palestine and Israel are affected by the

ongoing conflict. The author found the sources used fruitful in information regarding the

necessary targeted objectives. The author found it necessary to use sources only pertaining to one

ethnic group or the other.

Setting the Scene

In Julie Marks’ article, ​Gaza: The History That Fuels the Conflict ​(2018), Marks explains

the background of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and where it derived from. She mainly focuses

on the points where provoking of either country was done, which resulted in some sort of

violence. Marks goes over the decades of protests, military operations and violence. Although

the conflict itself has officially been ongoing since 1948, there were disagreements starting as

early as the 1800’s. Zionists claimed the land as their own before migrating, then Palestinians

settled in the land. Both groups claimed this land as their home. Since both thought of it as their

land, many arguments diffused leaving tension thicker than air (“History of the

Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” 2015).

The Rubble: Gaza Strip

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The battle ground used for the wars and violence, is an unlivable space for anything that

breathes. One million Palestinian children live in the dark, with critical conditions that are unfit

for survival or healthy development (“Gaza: 1 Million Children Suffering,” 2017). In Ann M.

Simmons’ article,​ Life in the Gaza Strip​ (2018), Simmons goes into detail with the types of

struggles that children and the people who occupy the land face on a daily basis. She mentions

the some struggles of having only a few hours of electricity available each day, contaminated

water supply (only 10% of the Gaza has access to a clean water supply), escalations of violence,

sea and air blockade, and a lack of infrastructure that is vital to economic prosperity. The article

also mentions the Hamas, which Israel and the United States identify as a terrorist organization,

and their contribution to the deterioration of the Gaza due to their focus of launching attacks on

Israel and forming strategies to do so. Health facilities, which is critical in the toxic environment,

struggle to operate due to the limited electricity permitted per day. Sometimes the conditions

reduce the facilities to operate on the bare minimum. In the 141 square miles of land, 46% of the

people are unemployed, and the unemployment rate continues to rise. Some industries have fully

collapsed like the farming industry. Farming industries located on the perimeter have been ruined

due to recent wars between Israel and Palestine. The fishing industry that has central to the area

for hundreds of years, has been cut drastically because fishermen cannot go beyond three

nautical miles because of the naval blockade. This problem leads to overfishing which leads to

farming fish on land. The issues stated above are problematic for a developing young.

The Children of Palestine

In Samah Fabr’s article, ​The Children of Palestine: A Generation of Hope and Despair

(2004), she projects that 54% of the Palestinian population consists of children under the age of
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17 which makes them the majority. Although they are the most vulnerable in every aspect, they

are still targeted by the violence that goes on. In the Gaza, 40% of children are anaemic while

23% suffer from chronic or acute malnutrition. Due to the life-threatening diseases that are

imposed on this population, their intelligence is affected and it increases the rate of Attention

Deficit Disorder (ADD). The daily violence affects the children’s learning environment, where

their minds’ are more occupied with fear and stress due to the environment. This results in higher

drop-out rates in schools. Children who live in the Gaza also suffer from poverty, 66.5% of

Palestinians live below the poverty line. This forces Palestinian children to play the role of an

adult, it is estimated that 2.3% of children in the range of ages 10-17 work and this contributes to

the drop-out rates. Studies suggest that psychological trauma has affected more than 68% of the

population of Palestinian children. Children are diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and

cognitive violence due to their witnessing of acts of violence or involvement with violence.

These children are also left without a sense of hope for the situation, 85% of children surveyed

believe that the situation will not get better and the way they cope is by academic and personal

self-improvement. There are many things that the area lacks that is essential to child

development like: stability, security, recreation, and sound nutrition.

The Children of Israel

Israeli children suffer from their own set of psychological and physical challenges. In

Sam Tyono’s article, ​Post-traumatic stress disorder in Israeli children ​(2003), the author states

44% of Israeli children have at least one relative that have been involved in terrorist attacks, and

Israeli children that live in different cities that are not war zones have the same percentage of

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as the children that do live in war zones. Children in
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Israel also suffer from the pressure of the mandatory enlistment in the military at the age of 18.

Conflict has become a fact of life for Israeli children. According to Olivier Laurent’s article,

These Teenagers Are Israel’s Future Soldiers​ (2015), these children are not well-prepared for

war mentally, and it only becomes a reality when they end up on the front lines. Training for the

different branches are all different but are all equally brutal in their own different ways because

they want to simulate how it actually would go in war. Instead of going out with friends and

learning different social skills, they learn how to assemble an AK-47 assault rifle. In Andre

Tobin’s article, ​Israeli teens’ mental health worsens when Arab-Israeli conflict does​ (2014),

Tobin describes that although many teenagers of Israel are able to do normal things like shop, go

out with friends, etc. the war still affects their mental health. Research was conducted on 9,000

Israeli-Jewish teens over the span of 14 years, and data shows that many teens suffer from

anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and paranoia. This is caused by the

violence witnessed or heard (explosions, suicide bombings) among the teens. Illnesses

heightened during long-term conflicts, and decreased with short-term conflicts. These children

suffer also due to the conflict.

Discussion
The Beginning:

Every story or problem ever faced on earth has some sort of beginning. Every war has

stemmed from a disagreement or prejudice. This includes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In

1820, Zionists settled in the land of what they called Israel and claimed it as their own. At the

time the Zionists left, leaving the land lonely but not unclaimed by their terms. In a short and

sweet explanation, the Palestinians found the land and settled in it and called it Palestine. Both

groups of people claimed it as their home, so when the Jewish returned and tried to reclaim their
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land problems rose between the two ethnic backgrounds. After the failed Russian Revolution in

1905 many Eastern Europeans and Russian Jews started to migrate to Palestine. After the

collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Britain took control over Palestine. In 1917

the “Balfour Declaration” was issued which declared that there would be Jewish land established

in Palestine and this was not ideal for the Palestinians. This caused many Arab nations to become

upset, but Britain continued to rule in the 20’s through 30’s. Starting in 1929, the two nations

fought with each other which resulted in Britain trying to limit Jewish immigration in order to

find some sort of middle-ground with the Arabs. Jewish radical groups felt betrayed and started

attacks on Britain’s military in Palestine because they felt as if the British were no longer for the

Zionist cause. After World War II, many Jews started to migrate to Palestine illegally, and the

United States adopted the Zionist cause. Britain no longer had an idea of how to mediate and

appease the two nations, so they let the United Nations try to come up with a solution known as

the Partition Plan (N.A, 1990)(Appendix A). The United Nations voted to partition of Palestine.

The Jews were going to get more than half of Palestine even though Jews made up less than half

of the Palestinian population. This caused an uproar within the Palestinian community, Arab

forces fought the Zionist forces. Through all of the gore, Israel secured full control of the

territory that was said to be given to them, along with some Arab areas. In 1948, the Arab-Israeli

war broke out because Israel declared its independence (making it the first Jewish state in over

2,000 years) and Palestinians found it unfair because it seemed as if it was favorable to the

Israelis because the Palestinian people would remain in the Jewish parts of the territory.

Although there was violence before Israel declared its independence, the violence intensified

after 1948. On May 14th, 1948, five Arab nations launched an air attack on Tel Aviv (Jordan,
THE EFFECTS OF WAR ON CHILDREN IN THE MIDDLE EAST 10

Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon). The United Nations ordered the nations to cease-fire during

this particular predicament, and Egypt was given control of the Gaza Strip, but that did not stop

the two territories from fighting. After the war, more than 700,000 Palestinians left or were

forced to leave their homes in the newly formed Jewish-Israel. For eighteen years, Egypt

controlled the Gaza Strip. Then in 1967, Israel gained their control back through the Six-Day

War, where Israel repossessed the Gaza Strip. In 2006, an Islamist political group known as

Hamas won elections and took control of the Gaza Strip. Since the group has been in office, the

strip has been a host of more protests, land assaults, bombings, and a multitude of other acts of

violence. Since 2005 there has been three major conflicts between Hamas and Israel: Operation

Case Lead, Operation Pillar of Defense, and Operation Protective Edge. Operation Case Lead

and Operation Pillar of Defense were both in response to rocket fire over the Gaza-Israel border.

The kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers by two Hamas member sparked the

seven-week predicament that is known as Operation Protective Edge. The violence still goes on

till this day. Peaceful protests quickly escalate to violence which adds more tension between the

two regions. Protests that are not even meant to be peaceful continue to occur, and no matter how

many peace efforts come along the region will continue to be characterized as unstable and

turbulent.

Kids of the Gaza and Palestine:

The Gaza Strip is a destroyed piece of land, since 1947 it has been a well-used

battleground. Basic environmental infrastructure has been abandoned and not thought of. Noise

pollution, air pollution, groundwater pollution, soil salinization, high-voltage electricity, and a

good chance of radioactive hazards all exist in the 141 square miles it occupies. The area
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struggles on two to four hours of electricity per day. Without electricity 741 schools are not able

to operate, there is a breakdown of health services, there are environmental issues due to

untreated sewage, water-borne diseases are spreaded more, and children are unable to play,

sleep, or eat (N.A, 2017). The UN reported in 2012 that the Gaza strip will not be habitable by

the year 2020. This is not the ideal place for children to live, where they feel comfortable and are

able to live a decent healthy childhood.

These environmental issues have personally impacted a woman named Yara and her son,

Ali, who suffers from cerebral palsy. Her son is dying before her eyes, he needs more medical

attention due to his condition and requires an electric wheelchair and mattress. Unfortunately due

to the circumstances pertaining to electricity, they are not able to consistently charge the two

objects. When the wheelchair runs out of power, Ali becomes completely paralysed. When this

occurs Ali suffers psychologically because he lacks mobility which furthers frustrates him when

the people surrounding him can walk and he is not able to move at all. Not only does the lack of

electricity effect Yara and Ali psychologically, it also affects them physically. Ali wears diapers,

and with the lack of water Yara is unable to keep him clean, resulting in him suffering from skin

rashes and other medical problems (N.A, 2017). The physical environment is one of the many

reasons that contribute to the decline in physical health amongst Palestinian children like Ali, but

there is definitely more to the problem.

Violence has caused the environment to be in the condition it is in today, but it also has

an emotional toll on the children that occupy this space. Children become more accustomed to

the noise of bombardment and become stoic rather than hearing the birds chirp in the morning

and being playful with their friends and family. Violence is seen everywhere they would go:
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school, work, and even in their own homes. On the way to school children and teachers are both

afraid that they will be tear-gassed, arrested, or harassed. Kids are unable to focus in school

because fear and stress has been instilled in their everyday life, and this results in children

dropping out of school. Children are also dropping out of schools in order to help support their

families due to the 46% unemployment rate (Fabr, 2004). This causes the children to have to

grow up and fill large shoes.

Children who witness or are personally involved in acts of political violence are more

prone to have mental illnesses or psychological disorders. Studies suggest that kids who were

brought to pediatric and psychiatric clinics are suffering from symptoms of depression, anxiety,

sleeping difficulties associated with nightmares, and cognitive problems which affects

performance in school. The symptoms above amount to aggression, kids will start having a

harder time controlling hostility, destructive behavior, and start fighting with adults and peers. In

order to prevent these things it is very necessary for conditions to improve. Improvements could

be made in stability, recreation, security, and a better nutrition.

Kids of Israel

On the contrary, Israeli children and teens face their own psychological troubles. It is

mandatory for everyone in Israel to join the military; women must serve for two years while men

have to serve three (Olivier Laurent, 2015). Israeli teens must attend early training prior to

serving where they are expected to prepare mentally and physically for war. They must train

under grueling circumstances designed to make sure that the teens are able to keep a level-head

during times of extremity. The scenarios of said extremities are endless. Conflict has become a

fact of life for Israelis, and many want to help aid their country in any way that they can.
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Although they may feel a sense of national pride for their country, they are still forced to put

aside their comfortability aside. At this age, Israeli teens are ignorant of the setting of war and

how traumatic it actually can be. They only hear stories around the dinner table where family and

friends discuss the setting of war and their experiences relating to active war. Similar to

American teens, Israeli teens care about a few things including: dating, partying, and getting new

technologies that come out every year. War is like the parasite in the back of their heads,

something that they push to the back of their heads until it becomes more prevalent in their life.

When one second they are holding their new iPhones, and the next they are holding assault rifles,

is when war becomes their reality and becomes harder to ignore. Israeli children also become a

prisoner of their own minds. A 14 year study has shown that short bursts of violence in Israel has

a negative effects, but long term conflicts weighs more heavily on their minds. They are

witnesses to rocket fire and suicide bombings. Hearing bombings, watching buses explode into

flames, and losing loved ones leaves an imprint in their brain that is hard to shake. With all of

this in mind, it contributes to many mental issues which will be discussed later.

Aside from serving in the military, Israeli children are victims of conflict. As the war

continues to happen, they are targeted by Palestinians. Israel is responsible for the proper

application of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (ORC), but is brushed

aside even for their own children. Sometimes, Israeli children are accidentally killed by Israeli

soldiers because they think they are Palestinian (N.A, 2018). Palestinian-Israeli children are not

even recognized by both races because Israel does not recognize double nationality. These

children are recognized as strictly Palestinian; which causes conflict between the state, the family
THE EFFECTS OF WAR ON CHILDREN IN THE MIDDLE EAST 14

and even the children who feel and get treated like a minority in their own homeland. The

adversities explained above lead to unhealthy development for Israeli teens and children.

Fear is implanted in everyday life for children who lives in the territory. PTSD,

depression, anxiety, and paranoia is more prevalent in such a young population due to the

unstable environment (Sam Tyano, 2003). A lot of the stress that impacts this minority is due to

the adaptation of living in the environment. Statistics of mental illnesses are even higher where

combat is more heavy, and where children are exposed to more violence. As the violence

continues, so does the eroding of mental health among Israeli youth.

Conclusion

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been an ongoing conflict officially since 1948, but

prior there was still much tension between the two groups. Zionists settled in the land in the

1800’s, calling it their home and dispersed, then Arabs came across the land and claimed it as

their home like the Zionists this. Many arguments have derived due to the disagreements of how

the land should be split, or if it should be split at all. The arguments turned into upscale violence

between the two states, where many Arab nations joined because they felt as if Palestine should

be recognized. The UN, who serves as a mediator, has piled solutions together in order to tame

the situation; however, neither of the two states agree with any of the proposed resolutions to this

day.

Due to the unlivable conditions (unclean drinking water, limited opportunity of

electricity, etc.) on the Gaza Strip, where much of the Palestinian population resides, many

physical and psychological issues bloom on the children that occupy the area. Children continue

to fear for their lives on an everyday basis. They do not want to attend school because of the
THE EFFECTS OF WAR ON CHILDREN IN THE MIDDLE EAST 15

anticipation of altercations that could happen on the way to school, and even if they do attend

school they are unable to focus because of the stress and fear that overcomes their heads. The

stress and fear caused by the multitude of factors is the cause of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and

other mental illnesses that no child should ever possess in years that should be lived care-free.

On the contrary, Israeli teens face similar mental issues despite living different lives.

Israeli children are exposed to bombings and violence, and are forced to serve in their army for a

part of their life. Israeli kids grow up with knowing that one day, their life will be put on the line

regardless of what they want to do. When their iPhones are replaced with an AK-47 assault rifle

is placed in their hands, they will have to postpone their childhood. The reality of war only

becomes a reality for them when they are on the war front. Similar to the Palestinian youth,

Israelis face the same mental illnesses, but are stemmed from different reasonings.

The children from both territories face different adversities, but trudge through similar

mental and physical issues that is caused by the war and conflict between both states. Both are

more similar than one may think. They both suffer in fear from various reasons, which causes the

following illnesses: PTSD, anxiety, paranoia, depression, etc. The illnesses affects their everyday

lives, and voice of reasoning and has been for a long time now; however, the flower that blooms

in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.

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palestinians-by-lindsay-mark/

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Sherwood, H. (2014). Children of the occupation: Growing up in Palestine. Retrieved December 18,

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Simmons, A. (2018, February 08). Life in the Gaza Strip - a cauldron of deficit, despair and

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Special Report: The Children of Palestine: A Generation of Hope and Despair. (2004). Retrieved

December 18, 2018, from

THE EFFECTS OF WAR ON CHILDREN IN THE MIDDLE EAST 17

https://www.wrmea.org/004-december/special-report-the-children-of-palestine-a-generation-of-hop

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Appendix A