Your article ‘To resist is to exist’ (March 2009) is a disturbing one that demands attention in that it presents an emotive picture calculated to shock and is viewed almost exclusively from the Palestinian perspective. As such, it paints a partial and one-sided view of a much more complex situation than is portrayed here. As I am sure you would agree, to exclude the daily trauma experienced by innocent men, women and children living in Israel presents only one side of this tragic conflict.

All Israelis live under the threat of continual suicide bombing and those living in towns such as Sderot and Ashkelon have lived under the constant fear of rocket attacks over the past eight years, with some 9,000 rockets being fired out of Gaza since 2001. This barrage of indiscriminate rocket fire, which paradoxically intensified following Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, has had devastating physical and psychological effect on innocent civilians living in Israel.

Thirty per cent of Sderot residents suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, with 62 per cent of children exhibiting higher levels of fear, avoidance behaviour (50 per cent), regression (31 per cent) and difficulty sleeping (47 per cent). Indeed, one third of the children are undergoing intensive psychotherapy.

The situation in the Middle East is desperately sad for both Israelis and Palestinians caught up in conflict. What we must remember, however, is that neither side has a monopoly on suffering and that a fair, even-handed dialogue is the only way to bring about a greater understanding and peace in the region.

Elizabeth Jackson
MA, UKCP (Reg) Gestalt psychotherapist