occupied Palestinian territories
Total population: 4.8 million
Total population under 18: 1.4 million
Children affected by conflict: 800,000
Number of War Child projects in 2017: Three
Number of implementing partner organisations:11
Number of partners providing funding: Two
Total child participants: 6,899 (3,795 girls and 3,104 boys)
Total adult participants: 1,315 (903 women and 412 men)
Why We’re There
The political and security situation inside the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), though tense, was comparatively stable following the violent upheavals of 2014 and 2015. Yet large numbers of people remain in need of humanitarian assistance and tension has markedly increased in both Gaza and the West Bank.
Conditions in Gaza are deteriorating fast after the detrimental effects of a ten-year blockade. Ongoing settlement construction in the West Bank has seen many Palestinian families lose their homes - further fuelling tensions in the area.
Children in Gaza live in constant fear of another surge of violence. Most have witnessed several armed conflicts already - including the 2014 conflict with Israel in which 1,462 Palestinian civilians were killed, including 551 children, as well as six Israeli civilians.
In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, violence against children remains a grave concern. Safe play areas are scarce and children playing in the street are exposed to risks of injury or violence.
Children across the Palestinian territories face violence at home, in schools and through exchanges with Israeli forces in which young people are injured and killed. The military arrest and detention of children as young as 12 is disturbingly common.
What We Do
War Child works with local professional organisations, community groups and families to protect children from harm and support their psychosocial wellbeing.
We work to create safe play and recreation spaces. These facilities allow children exposed to conflict and occupation to get back to being children. We train community members, particularly young people, to provide children in these spaces with vital life skills and psychosocial support.
We also support families and caregivers to cope with the stress of life amidst conflict and occupation. We help to strengthen their resilience and ability to provide nurturing family environments that help to reduce the impact of conflict on children.
War Child works to teach children and the people who care for them about their rights and responsibilities under international laws and conventions to which Israel and the Palestinian Authority are both signatories. And when we see that children’s rights are violated - no matter by whom - we speak out.
Our Projects
Protecting Children in No Man's Land:
Initiative to provide outreach and mobile child protection, psychosocial support, recreation and legal resources to Palestinian children and communities in the West Bank.
Helping Children Heal:
Providing psychosocial support, protection and recreation opportunities to the most marginalised Palestinian children and communities in Gaza.
No Place for a Child:
Providing support in prevention, mitigation and rehabilitation from experiences of violence during conflict with the law for children in the West Bank including East Jerusalem.
Youth Engagement, Youth Empowerment:
Engaging marginalized young people in community-based sports activities in Gaza to improve their mental and physical health, wellbeing and social connectedness.