The Gazan population is more likely to be exposed to a traumatic event than Palestinians in the West Bank, according to a survey. (Photo credit: Shareef Sarhan)
Years of ongoing exposure to conflict have exacted a toll on the mental health of Palestinians. This includes decades of exposure to conflict, restrictions on movements and poor living conditions, particularly for the inhabitants of Gaza who are subject to a partial air and land blockade. In this context we resolved to investigate the mental health impacts of overlapping vulnerabilities and cumulative traumas on the Palestinian population.
But after the Hamas assault on Israel on 7 October, and the retaliatory Israeli air strikes and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, his permit was cancelled. Israel cited "security concerns".
"I waited for the war to end but it's still ongoing," says the 32-year-old, from the town of Deir Bzi, just outside Ramallah.
"I had to sell my car after a month due to money problems."
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The Palestinian Authority (PA) says 200,000 workers are affected, mostly in the West Bank.
Kamal says his three-year-old daughter Zeina "notices that I'm not buying as much food and vegetables for the house as before".
"She asks me why I no longer buy her chocolate and crisps."
Hundreds of men in Kamal's town are sitting at home for the same reason - and the economy has ground to a halt.
After months of job-seeking, Kamal got two weeks' work on a construction site in the West Bank.
But his employer had to lay him off due to the worsening financial situation.
He has now started cutting down trees and selling firewood to local residents.
"Selling firewood is worth 2% of the salary I used to get from working in Israel," says Kamal.
He did not receive any compensation from the authorities or his employer when his permit was cancelled.
Like many other Palestinian workers, he was employed without a contract.
The PPCS report highlights the extent of overlapping vulnerabilities in the West Bank & Gaza, indicating a need for a holistic approach in improving the welfare of Palestinians. Interventions such as combined cash transfer and psychosocial services, as well as youth employment and cognitive behavioral therapy could go beyond the immediate health impacts and can support and reinforce human capital and – ultimately – economic outcomes. The same World Bank team is currently continuing to deepen our understanding of how these findings impact productivity, potential growth and the overall economy of West Bank and Gaza, with a view of providing policy guidance and recommendations for reforms, in a new report that will be produced in early 2024.
The dataset underlying the 2023 report is freely downloadable for any interested researchers and parties.
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