But, Nashashibi, says most in the clashes actually want to live, despite what they say. Children, she says, may see it as just another form of the war games. Her center counsels parents on how to keep kids at home. But, once people understand the context, they realize it's not under anyone's control. Mothers of large families cannot accompany their sons to and from school.
Many children work and are on their own much of the day.
Palestinian police, meanwhile, do nothing to shoo kids away. Israelis accuse them of mixing kids into the crowd and note that the main Palestinian political party has gone so far as to train a small portion of the kids in battle techniques. Palestinians say their struggle is similar to when Americans have gone to war, ready to die for principles. One day last week, four funerals marched through a Nablus street. The martyrs were wrapped in Palestinian flags.