Children forced from their homes in three refugee camps in the northern West Bank a year ago by Israeli forces are showing signs of mental deterioration including bedwetting, refusing to eat and declining academic performance, Save the Children said.
Save the Children staff said many families lost their only source of income when they were forced to flee1 Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps during Israeli military raids and are now living with relatives in overcrowded apartments or in temporary accommodation, such as vacant university dorms, and rely on financial support.
Children living with uncertainty over when they can return home are struggling to cope, with some refusing to eat, to attend school, and with increased cases of bed wetting, a common sign of stress in children, according to Save the Children staff working with some of the displaced families in Nablus.
Up to 32,000 people, including 12,000 children, fled their homes exactly a year ago when Israeli forces said they were launching a major military operation in the three camps to target militant groups. The UN said the operation, Iron Wall, resulted in 64 deaths, including 11 children, and triggered the largest wave of displacement in the West Bank since 1976.
A year on however, returning home is not an option, Save the Children said, with large parts of the camps destroyed in the attacks, with homes and other buildings bulldozed to the ground and much of the road, water and electricity infrastructure severely damaged.
Save the Children is providing displaced families with daily necessities such as food and clothing, alongside psychosocial support, while calling for accountability for violations of international law.
Hala*, 15, and her five siblings were displaced with their parents last year. Like many children affected by the raids, she had to move to a new town and start a new school, moving multiple times which interrupted her learning. She said:
“We’ve been moved from one environment to another, from one life to another, from one house to another. That is really hard for us. From one school to another, too. We had a very different feeling. We felt our old life wouldn't come back. Life here won’t be like life there... It affected our mental wellbeing. We changed a lot. In how we eat, in our emotional state, in everything.”
Hala’s brother Salah*, 16, has been particularly badly impacted. Their mother Ikram*, 36, said: “My son has become withdrawn to a degree I can’t even describe... We don’t see him. He just stays asleep. Just sleeping all the time. Here he’s made some friends, wonderful young boys. They call him, “Come on, let’s play football, hang out,” but he won’t. He doesn’t talk - even with us, there’s no conversation.”2
Ahmad Alhendawi, Regional Director for Save the Children in the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, said:
“A year after being uprooted from their homes by Israeli forces, children are living in a state of oblivion - trapped in a nightmare of displacement, suspended in uncertainty, made to wait for permission they should never have to seek to return to their lives.
“The behaviour of bed wetting, decline in school attendance and refusal to eat shows how children are reliving the trauma of displacement. These children deserve dignity, stability, and a return to their homes and schools.
“We cannot turn a blind eye to the needs of children in the West Bank. Without concrete steps toward accountability and adherence to international law, Palestinian children will continue to be deprived of their rights and safety. We must not fail them.”
Save the Children has worked in the occupied Palestinian territory since 1953, with a permanent presence since 1973. Since then, we have worked with partners to help provide quality education, protection for children, early childhood development support, and employment opportunities for young people.
While continuing its long-term work, Save the Children is also stepping up support to meet growing needs, including delivering essential items and cash support to families, providing mental health care for children, caregivers and frontline workers, and creating safe spaces where children can play and learn.
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MEDIA CONTACT: media.team@savethechildren.org.au
*Names have been changed to protect identity