Sur Bahir
Statement by the Palestine-Global Mental Health Network
We, the Palestine-Global Mental Health Network (PGMHN), call upon the international mental health community to join us in holding Israel accountable for its violent and oppressive actions in Palestine—including the imminent threat of displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from East Jerusalem (see UN report on home demolitions).
One such action took place during the early hours of July 22, 2019, when hundreds of Israeli soldiers demolished the Palestinian neighborhood of Sur Bahir in the outskirts of occupied Jerusalem. Nearly a hundred Palestinian men, women, and children were ejected from their homes before dawn and forced to watch helplessly while their residences were demolished and their belongings and livelihoods destroyed (see UN report on Sur Bahir). To add to the Palestinians’ devastation and humiliation, the Israeli soldiers who executed the demolition were videotaped rejoicing at this transgression(see Mondoweiss report on the video).
These recent massive house demolitions present yet another stark and painful example of escalating colonial Israeli expansionist policy in clear violation of international agreements and laws as well as violation of the Oslo Accord. In fact, during the first four months of 2019, Israel demolished more Palestinian homes than during the entire 12 months of 2018(see UN report on home demolitions).
Israel’s relentless attacks on Palestinians’ basic human rights, freedom, dignity, and safety have gone on for more than 71 years. In this way, the Palestinian Nakbah (Catastrophe) has been occurring daily since 1948. Yet the Israeli colonialist policies of ethnic cleansing, forcible displacement, and apartheid practice amount to war crimes according to UN experts (see UN report). Such dehumanizing policies have been a systematic assault on the core of Palestinian selfhood—their resilience and steadfastness in the face of relentless oppression, their emotional and psychological survival. All of these policies have resulted in intergenerational psychological trauma and catastrophic psychosocial consequences.
We at PGMHN hope that our colleagues everywhere will join us in taking a moral stance and an active role in bringing an end to Israel’s persistent onslaught on the Palestinians.
The Steering Committee
The Palestine-Global Mental Health Network