On 20 January 2017, taking advantage of the silence of the United States’ new Donald Trump administration, the Israeli government promised the construction of more than 6,000 homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem annexed territory. This expansion of the settlements will further set back the emergence of a Palestinian State and paralyse hope for peace (L’Express, 2017). Peace is an unknown situation for the youth of Palestine who have grown up between resistance and a desire to rise beyond the walls of a 68-year-old conflict..
The dangers of a childhood on the other side of the wall
In the summer of 2014, 2,200 Palestinians, including 1,500 civilians and 550 children, perished in the Israeli army’s “Protective Edge” offensive. On the Israeli side, 73 people were killed, 67 of them soldiers. The number of civilians killed in the Gaza Strip was the highest ever recorded since 1967 (France TV Info, 2015
At the end of 2015, UNICEF denounced the deaths of 25 Palestinian children and expressed concern over the imprisonment of more than 400 minors by the Israeli army. The Israeli army justified this move by a law that is unique in the world and allows Palestinian children to be sentenced from 12 years of age (Libération, 2016). Far from resigning themselves, many young Palestinians rose up and fought peacefully and actively to assert their rights. But years of frustration led some of them to take violent actions. Unorganized and not guided by any political or religious dogma, they attacked Israelis with bladed weapons, prompting an escalation of violence and reprimands. Although those acts were isolated cases, the Israeli Government stepped up searches and arrests of minors, resulting in more deaths (120) and casualties (12,000, including 3,600 from bullet wounds, the majority under the age of 16) (Buttin, 2010).
Daily figures
Despite the truce being upheld by the Palestinian factions, 2016 saw over 200 violations by the Israeli army, 45 bombings and 85 attacks against fishermen, resulting in the deaths of 25 Palestinians. Only 290 to 320 trucks managed to pass the checkpoints at the only commercial crossing, located in the south of the Gaza Strip, while at least 1,300 would have been needed to meet the needs of the population. Palestinians are only entitled to 130 products, a restriction that also applies to certain medications. Each household is limited to between 6 and 8 hours of electricity per day. The economic situation is deteriorating; 65% of the civilian population is unemployed and 70% lives below the poverty line (Lyon, 2017). Yet, in the open-air prison of Gaza, constantly punctuated by danger, restrictions and injustice have never managed to deprive the youth of their dreams.
A youth armed with knowledge
The young Palestinian poet Amir Hassan (2012) said: “A cultured people cannot be defeated”. With culture as a refuge, the youth of Gaza have perhaps found the most effective resistance in the classroom. Palestine is the Middle Eastern country with the highest school enrolment rate. UNICEF figures from 2012 show a literacy rate of 95.3% and an enrolment rate of 89.8%. At the Jenin refugee camp, it is on the boards of the Freedom Theatre that young Palestinians exorcise their fears and express their aspirations. Since 2008, this cultural centre has been garnering support from around the world and transmitting culture by giving young Palestinians a voice. Up and down the Gaza Strip, ‘galleries’ are being organized, where students from different backgrounds come together in cultural circles. Surrounded by cups of coffee and placards, they talk about politics or the latest books they have read (The Freedom Theatre, 2017). The pulse of this youth can be gauged by reading chapters of “To Be Young in Palestine” by Pénélope Larzillière. Away from the political movements and terrorist groups, young people throw themselves into their studies, dreaming of a future for their country, but aspiring to a career abroad.
Although the media usually portrays them in perpetual preparation for the Intifada, Palestinians actually divide their time between family, religion, love and studies. It is also among the youth that inter-cultural encounters take place. In Paris on 23 February, around 30 young Palestinians and Israelis came together at the Elysée Palace for an event organized by the IMAD Association for Peace and the Youth (i24news, 2017). Received by François Hollande, they embody the hope for reconciliation and renewal, that of an educated and courageous youth that does not renounce its ideals.
Written by : Tirole Florine Translated by : Eliot Cole Proofread by : Simon Beswetherick |
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Further reading :
Libération, 28/12/2010, Le manifeste de la jeunesse de Gaza, retrieved on 04/03/2017, available at : http://www.liberation.fr/planete/2010/12/28/le-manifeste-de-la-jeunesse-de-gaza_703264
