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“Using tear gas and shooting bullets at schoolchildren is just shocking,” says Birgitte Lange, Secretary General of Save the Children.
Lange presents disappointing figures on the situation of children in the West Bank and Gaza.
414 Palestinian schoolchildren ages 10-17 participated in the survey conducted by Alpha International on behalf of Save the Children.
Fear, fear, and general insecurity are mainly what children express in the survey.
– Norway has the historical responsibility to remedy the situation of the Palestinians, given the Oslo process that we facilitate, and the important role that Norway has today as leader of the group of donor countries for Palestine. When it comes down to it, I hope the disturbing numbers in our report papers are at the top of the show, says Lange.
The report claims that there has been an increase in the use of tear gas and attacks on schools. 988 children must have been treated for tear gas damage.
It should be read that “children feel that especially three conditions prevent them from having a safe school life: physical attacks on students and teachers. Attacks on school buildings and threatening experiences along the school path of Israeli settlers and military checkpoints. ”
In addition, he says: “The precarious school life has a negative effect on the development and health of children. Many children talk about ailments related to anxiety and stress. It results in cramps, unconsciousness, and depression. Parents talk about children who have clear behavioral problems »
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“It is bad when three out of four children say they are afraid of being bullied or mistreated by Israeli soldiers or settlers at school, or when they pass Israeli checkpoints,” said Save the Children general secretary.
The problems they struggle with and the lives of Palestinian schoolchildren are extremely dramatic in the Gaza Strip.
Almost two million people are trapped in 365 square kilometers, with no opportunity to leave the area that borders the Mediterranean and Israel. Gaza is governed by Hamas and Islamist and terrorist groups.
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“In 2019, twelve schools in Gaza were destroyed in Israeli airstrikes. Any escalation of the conflict leads to loss of schooling for students both in Gaza and in schools in Israel. In Gaza, this involves some 9,000 young people,” he notes. The report.
– We hope that the Norwegian authorities and international institutions will deal with the Israeli authorities and demand that the use of tear gas and rubber bullets be prohibited in the areas where schools are located and where schoolchildren travel. We cannot allow children to grow up under such conditions, says Lange.