Younis and his siblings live in the city of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank. Settler attacks are a frequent occurrence in their lives.

Hanan, Khaled, Younis and Raghad live with their parents in the neighborhood of Tel Rumeida, in Hebron. In 1986, an Israeli settlement was established in the heart of their neighbourhood. Since then "the entrance to Tel Rumeida is closed by an Israeli checkpoint and an electronic gate. [...] Settler cars are allowed into the area, while Palestinian cars are denied access," explains Nisreen, the children’s mother.

Nisreen’s brother in law also lives in the neighbourhood with his family. The rooftop of his house has been turned into an Israeli permanent military post. "We suffer a lot," says Nisreen. "We are often attacked by the settlers. […] Every five or six days they throw stones at us and every three or four days they throw rubbish at our house, including dirty nappies. They often throw stones from near Baruch Marzel's house, or from his balcony."

Nisreen reports her children have been injured by the settlers several times. "About four months ago, Younis was playing in front of the house when he was hit on the head by a stone. My husband carried him all the way to the electronic gate (checkpoint), and then took him to the hospital, where they stitched his wound. My husband refused to report the incident to the media because we know it makes no difference for us on the ground."

According to Nisreen, the fact that Palestinian cars are not allowed to circulate inside the neighborhood makes their life even more difficult: "If anyone is sick or injured we have to carry them at least 700 metres to the checkpoint. This might endanger the person’s life. I remember in 2003, when I was having Younis, I went into labour one afternoon, and I had to walk all the way to the checkpoint in a lot of pain because the ambulance could not come and get me to take me to the hospital. It was really painful."

Nisreen’s family feels isolated from the rest of their extended family and friends: "we rarely visit them because of the restrictions on movement. They also don’t come to our house because of the difficulties they face to reach Tel Rumeida." Compounding the situation is the fact that her children are afraid to play outside, further increasing the tensions inside their home: "Every time the settlers throw stones at my children, they refuse to go out for a long period of time. As they spend most of the time inside the house, they fight a lot, and their academic performance has dropped."

The situation has also affected the children psychologically: "Raghad started having bed wetting problems when she was five, due to the daily tension and the pressure we live under," continues Nisreen. "We made enormous efforts to treat her. Doctors without Borders helped us with regular counseling and assistance. Little Khaled is always afraid and asking us to close the windows. He wonders what the settlers might do during the night."

Nisreen says she is always worried about her children and the dangers they are constantly exposed to living near the settlers. Younis and Raghad go to Cordoba school, located in Shuhada street in front of a settlement, and they are often harassed and attacked by the settlers. Nisreen says that "Younis has been beaten several times. They get harassed mostly by settler children, and the soldiers guarding the checkpoints don’t do anything to stop them." Nisreen adds: "There is no end to our suffering."

23 June 2012

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