The Psychological and Moral Consequences for Israeli Society of the Occupation of Palestinian Land

The chapter examines the effects of the occupation on moral thinking, mental health and violence in Israeli society. It suggests that the occupation has exposed Israelis of all ages to trauma, leading to a variety of stress reactions, including increasingly violent behavior both within Israeli society and by the Israeli soldiers and settlers in the occupied territories toward Palestinians. Occupation leads to violence by the occupied, leading to repression by the occupier. The occupier copes with the stress of the occupation and his fear reaction by behaving aggressively not only to the occupied people, but also to his compatriots. New norms of behavior are established in the occupier society that allow higher levels of aggression in the civilian society as well as in the military than those that are usually tolerated. The occupier uses defense mechanisms such as justification, rationalization and dissonance reduction to justify his behavior.