Father’s Day comes with grief to Palestinian children

ISTANBUL- Anadolu Agency

While Father’s Day brings joy to millions of children worldwide, the occasion comes with grief to thousands of Palestinian children, who lost their fathers during the Palestinian intifada (uprising) against the decades-long Israeli occupation.

In a statement on June 15, Naim Abu Riash, head of Izdihar Palestine Association, a Turkey-based NGO, said a total of 9,914 Palestinians lost their lives and 101,558 others were injured in the conflict that began on September 28, 2000.

Abu Riash pointed out that 134 Israeli children lost their fathers as well in the same conflict.

Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds and the influence of fathers in society.

It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the months of March, April and June according to the home nation's customs.

Unlike the First Intifada, which lasted from 1987 to 1991, the Second Intifada was marked by frequent clashes and military escalations between Palestinian resistance groups and the Israeli army.

According to official Palestinian and Israeli figures, 4,412 Palestinians were killed and 48,322 injured during the Second Intifada, while 1,069 Israelis were killed and 4,500 injured.

During the Second Intifada, which lasted from 2000 to 2005, the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip were both subjected to Israeli military invasion, in which thousands of homes were destroyed and thousands of acres of farmland devastated.