Toy Soldier

© Zoriah Miller, May 2006. Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip, Occupied Palestinian Territories.

A young boy plays with a homemade toy gun designed to look like an AK-47, a popular gun used by militants in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip Occupied Palestinian Territory, May 13, 2006. Civilians and infrastructure in Khan Yunis have suffered greatly from the years of inhabitation by Israeli settlers. The settlers who move in and take land, heavily fortify their neighborhoods with concrete walls and are supported by the Israeli Defense Forces as well as private military guards. Neighborhoods like this one, located next to former settlements, are often completely destroyed by heavy handed Israeli retaliation to the Palestinians efforts to re-claim their land. Civilians are left homeless and without the necessary resources to rebuild their lives.