Abstract
Palestinian psychiatrist Eyad El-Sarraj, director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, is interviewed by Australian psychologist Lenore Meldrum regarding the impact of terrorism on the Palestinian people. The differential effects of the loss of their homeland, the occupation, and the Intifada on various generations of the Palestinian community are discussed. A stable home and communicative mother are suggested to be stabilizing influences on the adjustment of Palestinian children in the midst of the violence in Israel. Valuation of the interests of the group over the individual, a tribal tradition that endorses revenge across generations, and the influence of extremist Islamic teachings are cited as forces that promote the practice of suicide bombing. The conflict in Israel is conceptualized as a cycle of violence between two communities that is only likely to be resolved through mutual respect by each faction for the humanity and rights of the other.