Ramallah: Children now live in a constant state of fear and anxiety as a result of the excessive force used by Israeli forces against civilians during incursions into the Palestinian territories, according to a report.

The testimony of children in Jenin who were traumatised by military action has been documented by the Defense for Children International Palestine movement.

The movement claimed in its report that the actions of the Israeli forces had had a significant impact on other children in addition to violating the right to life of 17 children since the year's beginning.

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Their actions, way of thinking, and academic performance had all shown this. They had witnessed violence that had violated their rights under international law and put their psychological and social well-being in danger, it claimed.

Six of the 17 kids who have died since the year's beginning were from Jenin.

Little ones had served as human shields. When the city and its camp were stormed, their homes served as military barracks, sniper positions, and observation posts, where they were imprisoned for long periods of time. The report stated that all of this had a significant impact on the kids.

A 17-year-old said: "The Israeli army stormed the camp and began firing from all directions as my colleague Mahmoud Al-Saadi and I were going to school in the morning. He passed away.

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"All of that was shattered. We were planning to graduate from high school, go to college, and study together.

"The occupation's raids into the camp have become routine," a 16-year-old said.

"I can no longer leave the house because the army could enter at any moment. When I am away from home, I am afraid of army raids.

Director of DCIP Khaled Quzmar told Arab News that Palestinian children had lost all sense of security as a result of the Israeli army's excessive use of force.

Children live in a situation of hopelessness, he said. For instance, a child in the Dheisheh camp was discovered moving around with his will written on a piece of paper in his pocket out of fear that he would be killed if he were to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

According to Quzmar, the 17 children who were killed by the Israeli army did not endanger the soldiers' safety. They died while going about their daily business.

He continued by saying that it has a profound psychological impact on a child when they return to their classroom and discover a bouquet placed in memory of a classmate who was killed by the Israeli army.

He claimed that because life had lost all meaning for Palestinian children living in military action-prone areas like the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem and Jenin camp, they required counselling.

Another 17-year-testimony old's stated: "There are martyrs, shootings, destroyed homes, and property in every raid.

Bullets broke through our home's walls. While I'm in bed, danger is after me. I have to crawl on my stomach to move around the house out of concern for a sniper or stray bullets.

Death is more forgiving than this anxiety and fear. I haven't been able to get a good night's sleep in over a year. Sometimes the sound of gunfire and explosions wakes me up; other times, nightmares cause me to awaken. I no longer differentiate between reality and dreams.

"[The camp] has become full of pictures of martyrs, and there is a story and memories behind each martyr," a 15-year-old said. I observed young men who had been shot by the occupation from the window of the home, leaving them to bleed to death, as well as martyrs' bodies that had been completely burned.

"Our teacher, Jawad Bawakna, was killed by the occupation forces. The teacher closest to us was him. Through his activities and constant, vivacious movement, he gave us strength and hope.

He was very good at helping us psychologically given the circumstances in the camp.

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One of the most significant sources of psychological support was lost. Our loved ones now associate the school with painful memories, so we try to avoid it as much as we can.

During one of their incursions into the Jenin camp, Israeli military forces surrounded a house. They removed the man living there from his wife and their two kids, Tolin, age 2, and Misk, age 1.

The father later recalled: "The behaviour of the two daughters changed radically after this incident, especially Tolin, who turned from an outgoing child into a solitary one, attached to her mother and distracted, afraid of any sound or movement, except for the frequent nightmares and bouts of crying."