Developing Minds in Palestine
by David Knoppert **
Our pilgrimage group was waiting to leave an eerie, empty part of Hebron in the West Bank through a checkpoint. The young Israeli soldier had to get permission to open the gate for us to pass through. As we waited, someone glanced upwards towards a nearby building. A young Palestinian girl, perhaps 10 or 11 years old, waved excitedly to us below. She disappeared and then reappeared with another young child, possibly her sister. Several of us waved to the young girls before we needed to leave the area through the checkpoint. These girls seemed to be confined to that room 40 or 50 feet above the street. Why weren’t they outside playing? We were not sure if these girls were Palestinian or Israeli settler.
Young girl in Hebron waves to pilgrimage group.
Why was this area so eerie? None of the businesses were open; boards covered the fronts of many. The Israeli Defense Forces had forced Palestinian shop owners out several years ago. There was a visible presence of Israeli soldiers.
Earlier that day we were in the old market area of Hebron (designated H2) where protective coverings hovered over the Palestinian shops below. About 35,000 Palestinians and 700 settlers live in this part of Hebron. There are up to 1,000 Israeli troops in this area, protecting those settlers. One of the most famous streets in the West Bank, with some of the ritziest stores, had been reduced essentially to a garbage dump, from refuse thrown down by Israeli settlers who live directly above the market. The proximity of these settlers to Palestinian residents was unbelievable. A Palestinian man who lives very close by told us how the Israeli soldiers are a constant threat. They have come into homes in the middle of the night for no reason at all. Understandably the children are terrified. Children or their parents can be abducted or arrested for not following a strict curfew. The Palestinians are under military rule here. Perhaps this explains why those girls seemed to be confined to their home.
Wire mesh protects Palestinian vendors and their wares from the garbage thrown down on them by the Israeli settlers who live above.
When I returned to Canada after our trip, a common question was, “Did you feel safe?” I responded, yes, I felt safe most of the time. I was, after all, in the midst of 48 other ”internationals,” from Canada, Scotland, England and the US. However, at the end of our pilgrimage as we prepared to leave the West Bank and enter Jordan on the way home, I experienced something that was familiar. We were told to delete any potentially troublesome photos, itineraries and emails before we reached the Israeli border security. (Israel controls the border between the West Bank and Jordan.) At the exact time that I left Israeli-controlled territory and entered the Jordanian bus I felt an incredible sense of relief. A weight had been taken off my shoulders. I really did not have anything to worry about, but the potential of getting into any trouble with the Israelis had been in my subconscious mind.
So now, as I reflect back on those children in Hebron, I can only imagine what is going on in their minds. Every day they live with the realization that they could be taken away from their home at gunpoint or worse. The following day we met students at Al Najah University in Nablus. Those students who do not live in Nablus need to pass through checkpoints each day to get to class. Besides the logistical nightmare of checkpoints being closed, checkpoints are potentially dangerous. We learned that the previous day (while we were in Hebron) a university student had been killed at a Nablus checkpoint.
An Israeli military post overlooks the city of Hebron, West Bank.
My subconscious fear and anxiety pales compared to the real consequences of an unaccountable military force that can abduct and detain children, induce fear by their very presence, strategically maim children so that an arm or a leg must be amputated, or even kill children.[i] With no one to answer to. And what we witnessed is only the West Bank. It is hard to imagine what the children in Gaza are experiencing every single day
The effects of the mental anguish that Palestinians (especially children) are experiencing will carry on for generations. We, in Canada, are well aware of the multi-generational effects of residential schools on the Indigenous population of this country. We can only hope that the Palestinian children will receive the care, therapy and support that they will need when this disaster ends.
[i] Between October 7, 2023 and October 7, 2024, Israeli troops and settlers killed 171 Palestinian children and injured over 1,000. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/19/west-bank-children-killed-unprecedented-rate
David Knoppert is a retired Neonatal Pharmacist who lives in London, ON with his wife of 42 years, Diane, and their 8 year old Golden Retriever, Smudge. David was scheduled to travel on a pilgrimage to Palestine on October 12, 2023. Since then he has become very involved with initiatives to support the Palestinian cause. He enjoys wearing his Palestinian toque.