How Palestinian lives are shaped by 50 years of Israeli military occupation

700,000 Palestinians jailed by Israel in 50 years, representing 40% of male living under occupation

There are two places to visit if you want to know the human impact of Israel’s 50-year military occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory: an Israeli military court and the sitting room of a Palestinian family. I have been to both.

I work for the American Friends Service Committee, which has been involved in advocacy and humanitarian work with Palestinians for more than 50 years. In that capacity I co-coordinate the “Israeli Military Detention: No Way to Treat a Child” campaign with Defense for Children International—Palestine. For decades we have documented escalating violations of the rights of Palestinian