For 5 hours Israeli troops occupied the home. As a result, the house was completely destroyed. One hundred and thirty families have had to evacuate their homes due to damage from Israeli fire. Those who have been unable to move in with family or friends are now living in an emergency camp set up by the Beit Sahour Emergency Committee. The ramifications of this type of violence, as experienced by children, are of primary concern among health officials.
Many children now suffer from various psychological and social problems.
Health officials and parents have reported that many children now suffer from chronic diarrhea, bed-wetting and nightmares, over or under eating, moderate depression, intense attachment to parents and intense fear of leaving the home or going back to their homes and many children are having problems relating to their peers or other family members. The Rights of the Child With specific regard to children under the age of 18 years, the indiscriminate and excessive use of force by the Israeli military forces in the ongoing clashes is a direct violation of both international human rights and humanitarian law. In its Special Session on the Occupied Territories on the 18 October, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights established that the Israeli actions against the Palestinian civilian population constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity and called upon Israel to put an immediate end to the use of force against unarmed civilians. Until now Israel has not only failed to comply with this call, but continues to blatantly disregard its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was ratified by Israel in November of 1991. In Article 2 of the CRC, it explicitly states, States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction Therefore, Israel, as the occupying power, is obligated to implement the provisions of the CRC in the Occupied Territories.