Palestine

Palestine and Conflict resolution:
Teachers Notes

Conflict is a natural part of human development. People often argue and disagree expressing strong beliefs and feelings from different points of view. But finding non-violent ways of resolving conflicts is necessary for states and governments just as it is for individuals, groups in families, schools and communities.

The biggest obstacle to Palestine achieving the MDGs by 2015 is the ongoing conflict with the state of Israel. Since 2000 the rapid progress made towards achieving the MDGs between 1994 and 2000 has been not only reversed but the situation currently is getting much worse.

Assembly

Conflict in the Middle East is not recent. In August 1982 the UN General Assembly created the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression (June 4) after being “appalled at the great number of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese children who were victim’s of Israel’s acts of aggression”

20 years later children in Palestine and Israel still die through this conflict.

• From September 2000 to March 2004 573 Palestinian and 104 Israeli young people were killed.
• As many as 1.3 million children, 80% of the young population live in a state of fear and distress requiring agencies such as UNICEF to run major psychosocial counselling projects.

See Citizenship assembly notes p.42-43 taken from “Under the UN Flag” Assemblies for Citizenship in Secondary Schools UNICEF 2005. Copy available at the CGE.

Classroom activities

A good start up conflict resolution activity is based on a cooperation tale about two donkeys, based on an activity from the Quaker Peace Service, it can be found in Our World, Our Rights Amnesty International. Can be loaned or purchased at CGE.

The following activities are taken from “How do we make Peace?” UNICEF 2004 and can be used with students in KS3 to explore:

• Ideas about peace (activity 2)
• Why children need peace, linked to the UN Convention on the rights of the Child (activity 4)
• Classifying conflicts (activity 5)
• Stages of a conflict (activity 7)

This resource can be downloaded in full or alternatively the teachers booklet and photos set can be purchased from UNICEF for £5 or loaned from the CGE

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