Abstract
Driven from their homes in Palestine by the Israelis in 1948, a total of 11.6 million Palestinians live today in marginalized conditions worldwide, with 4.5 million of these living in stateless insecurity the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip—discontinuous and ever shrinking geographic sectors known collectively as the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Palestinians under occupation have been subject to relentless ongoing political, military, social, and ideological assault by the state of Israel, which remains in total control of its economy, borders, natural resources, and human movement. Essentially a “middle” country by overall human development standards, Palestine’s current economic, educational, human rights, and public health indicators suggest disturbing downward trends in every domain toward increasing impoverishment, dysfunction, and social fragmentation. Policy recommendations must begin with an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. To this end, the authors propose a global initiative in solidarity with Palestine, projects supportive of the internal cohesion of Palestinian institutions, and continued direct humanitarian relief.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Akram, F. (2014, August 20). Gaza children unable to go back to school. Al Jazeera English. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.aljazeera.coinm/news/middleeast/2014/08/gaza-palestinians-children-school-displaced-201481913402621943.html
Barber, B., Spellings, C., McNeely, C., Page, P., Giacaman, R., Arafat, C., et al. (2014). Politics drives human functioning, dignity, and quality of life. Social Science and Medicine, 122, 90–102.
BBC News. (2005, February 8). Intifada toll 2005–2000. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3694350.stm
Birzeit University, Institute of Women’s Studies. (2008). The impacts of Israeli mobility restrictions and violence on gender relations in Palestinian society: 2000–2007. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.ldf.ps/documentsShow.aspx?ATT_ID=1497
Bob, Y. J. (2013, January 6). Israeli rights group accuses Shin bet of using torture despite high Court ban. Jerusalem Post. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Israeli-NGO-accuses-Shin-Bet-of-using-torture-despite-High-Court-ban-337196
Canada-Palestine Support Network. (2010, August 29). Trauma, grief, and PTSD in Palestinian children victims of war on Gaza. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.canpalnet.ca/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=442&Itemid=1
Central Intelligence Agency of the United States of America. (2014). The world factbook. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html
El Sarraj, E., Punamaki, R. L., Suhaile, S., & Summerfield, D. (1996). Experiences of torture and ill treatment and posttraumatic stress disorder; symptoms among Palestinian political prisoners. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9, 595–605.
Elbedour, S., Onwuegbuzie, A., Ghannam, J., Whitcome, J., & Hein, A. (2007). Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety among Gaza Strip adolescents in the wake of the second Uprising (Intifada). International Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect, 31(7), 719–729.
Freud, A. (1979). The ego and the mechanisms of defense. Madison: International Universities Press (Original work published 1936).
Freud, S. (1990). Five lectures on psycho-analysis (Ed. & trans: Strachey, J.). New York: Norton. (Original work published 1910).
Ghrayeb, F., Rusli, M., Al Rifai, A., & Ismail, M. (2013). Prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents in Tarquamia, Palestine. Canadian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 1(1), 49–57.
Giacaman, R., Khatib, R., Shabaneh, L., Ramlawi, A., Belgacem, S., Sabatinelli, G., et al. (2009). Health status and health services in the occupied Palestinian territory. Lancet, 373(9666), 837–849.
Giacaman, R., Rabaia, Y., Nguyen-Gilham, V., Batniji, R., Punamaki, R., & Summerfield, D. (2011). Mental health, social distress and political oppression: The case of the occupied Palestinian territory. Global Public Health, 6(5), 547–59. doi:10.1080/17441692.2010.528443. Epub 23 Nov 2010.
Heller, J. (2014, August 31). Israel claims West Bank land for possible settlement use, draws U.S. rebuke. Reuters Edition: U.S. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/31/us-palestinians-israel-settlement-idUSKBN0GV0D020140831
Independent Fact Finding Committee on Gaza. (2009, April 30). No safe place. Report presented to the League of Arab States, Cairo, Egypt. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://icahdusa.org/multimedia/no-safe-place.pdf
International Committee of the Red Cross. (2007). Gaza and West Bank (Bulletin No. 22/2007). Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/news-release/2009-and-earlier/israel-palestine-news-150607.htm
Jabr, S. (2008). Case report: Imprisonment and torture triggered psychopathology. Impuls Journal of Psychology-Special Issue on Trauma, 1(1), 74–79.
Jabr, S. (2014a, March 23). Internalized oppression: Yet another loss for an occupied nation. The Palestine Chronicle. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.palestinechronicle.com/internalized-oppression-yet-another-loss-for-an-occupied-nation/#.VDllw2d0yUk
Jabr, S. (2014b). A deeper pain. The New Internationalist Magazine, 477, 404.
Jabr, S., Morse, M., El Sarraj, W., & Awidi, B. (2013). Mental health in Palestine: Country report. Arab Journal of Psychiatry, 24(2), 174–178.
Jabr, S., Morse, M., Awidi, B., & Berger, E. (2014, Spring). Mental health care in Palestine: Barriers to excellence. Washington Psychiatrist, 13–18.
Laub, Z. (2014, August 1). Hamas. Retrieved November 7, 2014, from Council on Foreign Relations Web site: http://www.cfr.org/israel/hamas/p8968
Li, D. (2006). The Gaza Strip as laboratory: Notes in the wake of disengagement. Journal of Palestine Studies, 35(2), 38–55.
Mataria, A., Khatib, R., Donaldson, C., Bossert, T., Hunter, D., Alsayed, F., et al. (2009). The healthcare system: An assessment and reform agenda. The Lancet, 373(9670), 1207–1217.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2004). Istanbul protocol: Manual on the effective investigation and documentation of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Professional Training Series No.8/Rev.1). New York/Geneva: United Nations. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/training8rev1en.pdf
Palestinian Center for Human Rights. (2012, November 24). The total numbers of victims of the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9052:1&catid=145:in-focus
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). (2006). Domestic violence survey 2005: Preliminary findings. Press release, Ramallah, Palestine. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/PressRelease/Domestic_e.pdf
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). (2013, May 14). Special statistical bulletin on the 65th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/site/512/default.aspx?tabID=512&lang=en&ItemID=788&mid=3171&wversion=Staging
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). (2014a). Current status of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. Press release, Ramallah, Palestine. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/PressRelease/Detainees_in_Israeli.pdf
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). (2014b). International Women’s Day 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/site/512/default.aspx?tabID=512&lang=en&ItemID=1049&mid=3171&wversion=Staging
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). (2014c). Main statistical indicators in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_Rainbow/StatInd/StatisticalMainIndicators_E.htm
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). (2014d). On the eve of world elderly day 01/10/2014. Press release, Ramallah, Palestine. Retrieved November 7, 2014, from http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/portals/_pcbs/PressRelease/Press_En_ElderlyDy2014E.pdf
Palestinian National Authority (PNA). (2009, March 2). The Palestinian national early recovery and reconstruction plan for Gaza 2009–2010. International conference in support of the Palestinian economy for the reconstruction of Gaza, Sharm El-Sheikh, Arab Republic of Egypt. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://unispal.un.org/pdfs/PA_GazaRecoveryPlan.pdf
Palestinian National Authority Ministry of Health (2010). Palestinian national health strategy 2011–2013: Setting direction-getting results. Ramallah, Palestine. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.lacs.ps/documentsShow.aspx?ATT_ID=4764
Punamaki, R., Oouta, S., & El Sarraj, E. (2001). Resiliency factors predicting psychological adjustment after political violence among Palestinian children. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 25(3), 256–26.
Rijke, A., & van Teeffelen, T. (n.d.). To exist is to resist: Sumud, heroism, and the everyday. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from https://www.academia.edu/8479715/To_Exist_Is_To_Resist_Sumud_Heroism_and_the_Everyday
Roy, S. (1987). The Gaza Strip: A case of economic de-development. Journal of Palestine Studies, 17(1), 56–88.
Roy, S. (1999). De-development revisited: Palestinian economy and society since Oslo. Journal of Palestine Studies, 28(3), 64–82.
Rudoren, J. (2012, May 22). Hamas-run schools set out to teach ‘the language of the enemy’. New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/world/middleeast/hamas-run-schools-in-gaza-set-out-to-teach-hebrew.html?_r=0
Summerfield, D. (2001). The invention of post-traumatic stress disorder and the social usefulness of a psychiatric category. British Medical Journal, 322(7278), 95–98.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2010). Palestinian human development report, 2009/10: Investing in human security for a future state. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/nhdr_palestine_en_2009-10.pdf
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2012). Arab development challenges report, 2011: Human deprivation under occupation. Retrieved November 7, 2014, from http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/HDR/UNDP-ADCR_En-2012.pdf
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2013). Human development report, 2013: Palestine (state of). Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/PSE.pdf
United Nations General Assembly. (1989, December 8). Resolution 44/48. Report of the special committee to investigate Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the population of the occupied territories. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/3C9EFF4A57C029D1852560CA004D5D9C
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. (2014, August 28–September 4). Occupied Palestinian territory: Gaza emergency situation report. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/humanitarian_snapshot_8september_2014_opt_v4.pdf
United Nations Trade and Development Board. (2014, July). Report on UNCTAD assistance to the Palestinian people: Developments in the economy of the occupied Palestinian territory. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://unctad.org/meetings/en/SessionalDocuments/tdb61d3_en.pdf
Usher, G. (2004, July 12). Who are the Palestinians? New Statesman. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.newstatesman.com/node/148399
Washington Times. (2009, March 19). Rights group names 1,417 Gaza war dead. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/19/rights-group-names-1417-gaza-war-dead-1/?page=al
World Health Organization (WHO). (2012, October 10). Transforming mental health services and attitudes: Phase 2 of EU-funded mental health initiative in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Press release, Ramallah, Palestine. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.emro.who.int/palestine-press-releases/2012/transforming-mental-health-services-and-attitudes-palestinian-moh-and-who-launch-phase-2-of-eu-funded-mental-health-initiative-in-west-bank-and-gaza.html
World Health Organization (WHO). (2014, August 23–28). Situation report #10. Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/ WHO_Sitrep_on_Gaza_-__10.pdf
Acknowledgement
The authors express our deep gratitude to the historian Dr. Thomas W. Hill for his kind review, factual corrections, and helpful suggestions regarding our summary of events since 1948.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jabr, S., Berger, E. (2016). The Survival and Well-Being of the Palestinian People Under Occupation. In: Tiliouine, H., Estes, R. (eds) The State of Social Progress of Islamic Societies. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24774-8_24
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24774-8_24
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-24772-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-24774-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)