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[10, December 2008] Today, marks the 60th anniversary of the International Human Rights day. It is the day the UN declared the issuance of the "International Declarations of Human Rights" to put new international foundations for enforcing and respecting the sacred life and dignity of human beings. It might be a co-incidence for the birth of this declaration with the anniversary of the Palestinian uprooting in 1948, still experienced by Palestinians up until today. This occasion comes as Palestine and the whole region are immersed in continuing incidents of violence, political instability, and violations of human rights. Palestinian people are witnessing tremendous violations to their rights. Moreover, Israel has continued tightening strict political and economical siege as well as partitioning the whole OPT and restricting freedom of movement, controlling the Palestinian civil life, and converting the Gaza Strip into a huge prison. In an escalating action, Israel has prevented international visitors, including; relief workers, journalists, and diplomats - as well as all Palestinian citizens in Gaza Strip - of movement, including patients (except a few numbers of critical cases), students, businessmen, and families, converting 1.5 million into detainees. This prevention of goods and basic raw materials – needed for humanitarian life - has led to paralysis in all aspects of life, and almost entire collapse of the Palestinian economy, as well as serious rise in the poverty rates and unemployment. Such conditions led to an alarming humanitarian and psychological repercussions. Consequently, siege and closures have negative consequences on the mental health conditions of Palestinians. The Palestinian environment today is a combination of deprivation, poverty, feelings of anger, frustration, hopelessness, feelings of powerlessness and despair. Moreover, such atmosphere leaves serious mental consequences on the Palestinian people, which will inevitably lead to further anger that will eventually develop into more violence and defiance. Furthermore, the psychological suffering is reflected in the high levels of domestic, tribal, and community violence in general. Additionally, the results of the research studies reveal the correlation between anger feelings - resulting from frustrations - and violence and siege with their traumatizing impacts, from one perspective, on the negative behavior of children and their thinking in terms of social and political peace, from another perspective. Palestinians children are suffering from feelings of abandonment and neglect as a result of the inability of their parents to fulfill their basic needs, including providing basic needs of food and security. In addition, the feelings of resentment, oppression, defiance, and extremism will leave catastrophic scars on the psychological profile of the next Palestinian generation. Gaza Community Mental Health Programme warns against the serious impacts of the continuation of these condition that, if does continue, will lead to severe and dangerous deterioration in the mental health among the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip in particular and in Palestine in general. We, at Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, call on the international community and human rights organizations to immediately intervene in order to pressure Israel to stop strangulating Gaza Strip. Such action, will aggregate the Palestinian humanitarian sufferings and will lead to more political and security deterioration in the region and the world. Furthermore, the 120 international academics and researchers, participants of GCMHP’s 5th international conference, “siege and mental health”, held in October 2008, in partnership with WHO, who were - in blatant violation of principles of academic freedom- prevented from entering Gaza, have issued a press statement , in which they called to: immediately end the siege of the Gaza Strip; allow freedom of movement for individuals and goods; work genuinely to end the conflict and reach a just peace according to UN resolutions and past agreements made and broken. Moreover, the participants called to intensify efforts to articulate opposition to the siege, and commit to support international law and seek peace as the siege will hurt Israelis as well in the long run. On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, we, call upon the international community, especially the signatories of the 4th Geneva Convention, and human rights organizations to fulfill their responsibilities and urge all countries to respect articles of international law. Significantly, we, urgently appeal to the international community to rescue and protect Palestinians citizens and to break the imposed siege on Palestinian people. We, also, urge them to pressure Israel to prevent its continued violations of Palestinian human rights with all of its forms, and to urgently act on lifting the siege imposed on the Palestinian People.