The research context
The prolonged Israeli occupation exposes the whole Palestinian population to daily situations of danger, violence, and human rights abuse, with has significant effects on each member of the community (McNeely et al., 2014). Palestinian children are exposed to violent circumstances, night raids, arrest, house demolitions, personal assaults and injuries, as well as air bombardments (Arafat & Boothby, 2003). Despite the pervasiveness of the occupation, the living conditions for children and families might be very different dependent upon their location in cities or refugee camps, with differing implications on their well-being. Children’s experiences might vastly differ between Gaza and the West Bank, while rural villages face their own distinct challenges, such as the encroaching separation wall, the seizure of land, and settler violence. Therefore, considering agency as a socio-culturally grounded concept that can vary from place to place, the study was conducted in five different sites within the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in order to explore the unique place-related experiences within the different contexts. Table 1 summarizes the different settings where the sampling was carried-out.
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