WUNRN
OCCUPIED PALESTINE TERRITORIES -
WOMEN'S TESTIMONIES OF REALITIES, STRUGGLES
Direct Link to Full 73-Page 2012
Report:
The
Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling has published this report bringing
together fourteen testimonies that describe the day-to-day experiences of women
living in the occupied Palestinian territories. The aim of the report is to
provide a brief glimpse of the daily struggles of life in the region, and to
illustrate the effects on women of the practices and policies implemented by
the Israeli military and civilian authorities.
The
report begins with an overview of the history of the military occupation,
beginning with the six-day war in 1967, and of the present-day situation. There
follows six chapters of two or three testimonies each, covering: night raids;
settler and soldier violence; soldier’s testimony; property destruction; East
Jerusalem; and the Gaza Strip. Each chapter begins with a brief overview and
analysis of the type and scale of the practices involved, before presenting
individual testimonies of particular, documented events.
Examples of the testimonies presented include mothers recounting their sons
being forcibly arrested and beaten in their homes in the middle of the night; a
15 year-old girl beaten by soldiers whilst herding goats; and a mother videoing
an attack by settlers on a Palestinian village. Also included are two
testimonies from former Israeli soldiers documented by Breaking the Silence, in
which they reflect on the then normalcy of the day-to-day brutality of their
work.
The physical and psychological effects of raids, violence, seizure and
demolition of homes, and repeated exposure to unpredictable violence, are
having a devastating affect on women, particularly mothers. Insomnia,
headaches, anxiety, nightmares, hyper-vigilance, and a range of other symptoms
adversely impact their capabilities as mothers. The report concludes by
rhetorically asking whether the current policies of the Israeli military and
government are going to lead to a just and lasting peace.