The children in Umm al-Khair, in Masafer Yatta in the West Bank, face the daily fear of their houses being demolished and of being evicted by armed Israeli settlers. Many have not been to school in months because either their schools have been destroyed by Israeli settlers or the IDF, or it is deemed to dangerous to travel between villages.

Owdeh Hathaleen, a teacher in Umm al-Khair, who has young children of his own, has set about to run a summer camp for the children in Masafer Yatta. To give them some normality, routine and the joy that children all deserve to have.

Umm al Khair is within Area C, and specifically, within firing zone 918 – a vicinity which the Israeli Supreme Court decided in 2022 could be used as an Israeli Army (IDF) military training zone. This means that Palestinian settlements and communities can, under Israeli law, but not of course under international law, be destroyed, and the people displaced and rendered homeless. The demolitions are often accompanied and enforced with severe levels of settler violence, indiscriminately targeting men, women and children.

On the 26th of June, Owdeh and the rest of Umm al-Khair woke to trucks of armed settlers raiding the village, with permits to demolish 25 of the homes, rending over 1/3 of the village homeless. They tore down the community tent and so far, 50 people have nowhere to live. The descriptions of their homes being stormed and raided by settlers is one which Owdeh shares almost daily, but on this day they were accompanied by the fear that this is the beginning of the end.

The latest news we have had from Owdeh is that tents have been confiscated, cameras taken off residents, and two young men arrested and taken away.

In the face of this brutality and violence, Owdeh hopes to continue with the summer camp. Please help us raise the funds necessary to do this.

Funds raised will go towards bringing in teachers and other to help run the camp, feeding 60+ children throughout the month, materials for games and sports, the ability to teach language classes and tech skills and more.

*Note: there is a separate fundraiser being circulated to raise money to rebuild the houses which have been destroyed.

Where the money will go

The money raised is the estimated cost for providing for 60 children for a month, and will be spent on: food and drinks, materials for games and sports, to pay for external language teachers for English classes, to pay for the resources to teach computer literacy and tech skills, and for transport to transport the children between villages for their safety.

How the money will get to Umm al-khair

Your donations will be transferred to a trusted organization that provides on-the-ground support to the residents of Umm Al-Khair. Since Umm Al-Khair's residents are unbanked, the organization will withdraw the funds in cash and give them directly to village leaders to distribute to those families most in need. Thank you for supporting Palestinians under occupation in this urgent moment.