Israel/Palestine

Shadi Khouri is a 16-year-old student at the Ramallah Friends School, a 150-year-old Quaker school in Palestine. This week he was arrested, held in Israeli military detention, and interrogated without the presence of a parent or lawyer. What is happening to Shadi is terrifying and—devastatingly—not unique. This violation is just one example of the systematic abuse felt by Palestinian children living under occupation.

My time at RFS was part of my recent journey through Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territory (oPT). I wanted to better understand the Israeli occupation and blockade of Gaza from the perspectives of those living there and discuss ways to address these challenges.

To say the students at the Ramallah Friends School have had to grow up too fast under the Israeli occupation is an understatement. They described life under the restrictive system of checkpoints and other forms of control and repression.

Palestinians living in Gaza have endured severe restrictions on movement and access, imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. The long-term humanitarian impacts of these restrictions have been devastating: 97% of Gaza’s tap water is contaminated, and many in Gaza have electricity for only a few hours a day.

FCNL joined more than 100 national organizations in signing a letter to President Biden urging him to block the delivery of $735 million in weapons to Israel.

The Friends Committee on National Legislation today joined Churches for Middle East Peace, Jewish Voice for Peace Action, and Defense of Children International – Palestine in sending a letter urging President Biden to block the delivery of $735 million in weapons to Israel.

The recent surge in violent attacks against members of the Jewish community is a shameful reminder that centuries of antisemitism continue to poison our nation and our world.

FCNL urges the Biden administration and members of Congress to use their influence to help bring a swift conclusion to the latest round of violence, ensure that Palestinian rights and dignity are protected, and negotiate a peaceful and permanent end to the conflict in Israel/Palestine.

The Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act (H.R. 2590), introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum (MN-04), seeks to protect Palestinian human rights and ensure no U.S. taxpayer funds are used to support abusive practices in the occupied territories.