Child Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory – Review

Save the Children’s 2010 review of the major trends that affected the rights of children in the occupied Palestinian territory to live, learn and play in freedom and safety. In 2010, Palestinian children continued to face poverty, violence and threats to basic rights such as education and health. Economic growth obscured widespread aid dependency, particularly in Gaza, and the lack of economic horizons.
The ongoing blockade of Gaza has prevented recovery after Israel’s 2008/09 offensive, with housing and infrastructure only nominally rebuilt and children continuing to report the psychological effects of the military operation two years later. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, children were displaced and their lives disrupted by a rise in demolitions of homes and other structures. Communities in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem faced continued isolation as a result of the Separation Wall and its related permit regime internal checkpoints inside the West Bank and other movement and access restrictions.