Bethlehem - Jerusalem
January 7th is Christmas for my family (Eastern Christian traditions). After we had our large gathering of a few hundred members of the Qumsiyeh clan, and paying visits to my sisters and the older people in my family, I tried unsuccessfully to visit Jerusalem (both with my US passport and with my Palestinian ID). The idea was to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and have dinner in Jerusalem. Here is what happened with a video ( and some text explaining why even this short encounter reveals at least six violations of International law.
I used to be a high school teacher in Jerusalem. Bethlehem is only 4 miles away and is a suburb of Jerusalem. The economies were/are inter-dependent and for five thousand years were inseparable. That is until Israel decided to separate us after they signed the Oslo agreements in 1994 (one of many reasons why these sell-out agreements entrenched apartheid and colonization). I am not allowed to enter Jerusalem on my American passport because I am a Palestinian who does not get a visitor visa on my US passport (I hold green card resident ID in my own country). Most Palestinians are not allowed to their own city of Jerusalem except with special permits. On occasions (like Muslim and Christian holidays, Palestinians above a certain age (males over 55) are allowed. In this case they claimed that Shabak (Israel Internal Security) said that even if I was above 55 I am not allowed and that if I try to come through again I would be jailed (lack of due process not withstanding). While I was questioned, the bus from Bethlehem had left and we were forced to then walk back in the cold weather.
The Israeli policies of separating Bethlehem from Jerusalem and denying us entry are violations of International law and many are considered war crimes. Here are the violations that these soldiers and the Israeli government are guilty of based on International law:
1) Israel’s changes to borders of the municipality of Jerusalem to include parts of Bethlehem (illegal for occupiers, several UN resolutions),
2) Israel’s annexation of east Jerusalem (both West Jerusalem and East Jerusalem are not Israeli per the UN resolutions that Israel itself agreed to implement when they became members of the UN),
3) Israel’s establishment of 23 Jewish only settlements/colonies in Bethlehem is a war crime and the fact that such Jewish settlers cross over without requiring tasrih (permit) is racist,
4) Israel cannot prevent freedom of movement between one occupied town (Bethlehem) and another occupied town (Jerusalem),
5) Building walls and fences inside the 1967 occupied areas is also illegal (International Criminal Court Ruling 2004),
6) That the “shabak” can give direction to prevent people like me from crossing simply because we advocate non-violent resistance (I wrote a book on the subject) is contrary to both local law (supposed freedom of speech, due process) and International law (e.g. violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights).
These colonization tactics are nothing short of state terrorism. This indignity was a disappointment in Christmas but we have the peace of Christmas in our hearts and the silver lining is that this provides another motivation for us to redouble our efforts to end the ongoing crimes against humanity. Others suffer and even get injured, jailed or tortured so we are still grateful. May 2017 bring us closer to ending this nightmare of apartheid, close to return of Palestinian refugees, closer to justice, and closer to peace.
Video here (unfortunately short and does not carry the full interactions)
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Mazin Qumsiyeh
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Professor and (volunteer) Director
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Palestine Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability
Bethlehem University
Occupied Palestine
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SCDS's Digital Museum of Nativity: 3D Imaging of Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem - latest version
- the video was produced by SCDS Corp., © 2011, following its involvement in the International Project for Survey, Study, Assessment and Conservation Plan for Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem; the Project has been initiated by PNA;
- the video illustrates representative results of the 3D Imaging work performed by SCDS groups between September 2010 and January 2011;
- all HD Documentation samples are extracted from SCDS's metadataX repository;
- 3D Imaging, Photography, Data Processing/Modeling, and Metadata Management via metadataX have been performed by SCDS Corp.;
- original ringing church bells sounds of the Church of St. Catherine, Bethlehem;
- music: A Child Is Born in Bethlehem, Sacrum Chamber Choir;
© 2011 SCDS Corp.
PALESTINIAN CULTURE IS ALIVE!
A celebration was set in #London to refresh the #Palestinian culture, watch this to learn more.
#Palestinian #palestina #ICRC #Jerusalem #Khan_AlAmmar #GazaSiegeCrime #Gaza #BDS #Press #Palestinian_children #AhedTamimi #GazaMassacre #GreatReturnMarch #Israeli #IsraeliCrimes #GazaBleeds #GazaToUN #UNGA #UNRWA #GRM #labourparty #jermycorbyn #IOF #Holocaust #children #GazaUnderAttack
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PALESTINIAN CULTURE IS ALIVE!
Bethlehem welcomes a growth in tourism
(9 Dec 2019) LEAD IN:
For decades, the people of Bethlehem have watched tour buses drive up to the Church of the Nativity, disgorge their passengers for a few hours at the traditional birthplace of Jesus, and then return to Israel.
But in recent years a new form of tourism has taken root, focused on the West Bank town’s Palestinian residents, their culture and history and their struggles under Israeli occupation.
STORY-LINE:
In Manger Square, just outside the Church of the Nativity, a massive Christmas tree has been set up and festivities are planned in the coming weeks as various denominations hold staggered Christmas celebrations.
The town’s predicament is on vivid display in and around the Walled-Off Hotel, which was designed by Banksy and opened in 2017.
The hotel looks out on the separation wall, which itself is covered with artwork, graffiti and museum panels explaining life under occupation.
The guest house is packed with with his work, with one room overlooked by an Israeli watchtower and sporting a television set hit by a bullet.
The highlight of the hotel is room number three known as Banksy's Room. Here guests sleep in a king-size bed underneath a mural showing a Palestinian and an Israeli in a pillow fight.
Tourism has suffered in the past during outbreaks of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, but the Palestinian Tourism Ministry expects 3.5 million visitors will have visited Bethlehem in 2019.
That's three million more than the previous year, but many businesses here believe there is still room for growth.
Among those enjoying the increased international interest here is Elias Al-Arjah, owner of Bethlehem hotel.
He says: We have in Bethlehem 4,600 hotel rooms, in Palestine we have 10,000 hotel rooms, I think we need another 4,000 hotel rooms in Bethlehem to cover the needs of the tourism market if the region remains calm.
According to Al-Arjah: We have 40 percent increase compared to last year, I think last year we received 2.5 million tourist and this year we received three million and two hundred thousand tourists, we are advancing very quickly and better than the rest of the Palestinian economic sectors.
While the Holy Land has the most important sites in Christianity, including the places where tradition says Christ was born, where he grew up, was crucified and resurrected, it attracts far fewer visitors than the Vatican.
Business people like Al-Arjah believe it is an opportunity to draw in more people.
Religious tourism is a boon for the local economy, but many Palestinians feel the city’s modern residents are largely ignored.
Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East war.
The Palestinians view the territories as part of their national homeland and hope to one day establish an independent state.
Visitors travelling to Bethlehem pass through a sprawling Israeli checkpoint and then drive along the separation wall, which Israel began building during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in the early 2000s.
Israel says the barrier is needed to prevent attacks, but the Palestinians view it as a land grab because its route places almost 10% of the West Bank on the Israeli side.
Bethlehem itself is almost completely surrounded by the barrier and a string of Jewish settlements.
A form of alternative tourism, conceived by Palestinians themselves, can be found in the city center, just a few hundred metres from the church.
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Thousands celebrate Palestinian culture in Jerusalem
Thousands of people surrounded Jerusalem's Old City walls from Bab al-Khalil (Jaffa Gate) to Bab al-Asbat (Lions' Gate) on March 16 for a celebration of Palestinian culture and education.
In an event organized by the Shabbab al-Balad youth initiative, Palestinians from Jerusalem, the West Bank, and areas inside Israel gathered to read and to mark the anniversary of the opening of a public library in East Jerusalem's Jabal al-Mukkaber neighborhood.
For those in the West Bank who were unable to obtain Israeli permits to enter Jerusalem, a similar event was held in Bethlehem's Manger Square.
Rick Steves' The Holy Land: Israelis and Palestinians Today
More info at This hour-long special weaves together both the Israeli and the Palestinian narratives. In Israel, we go from the venerable ramparts of Jerusalem to the vibrant modern skyline of Tel Aviv. In Palestine, we harvest olives near Hebron, visit a home in Bethlehem, and pop into a university in Ramallah. We also learn about security walls, disputed settlements, and the persistent challenges facing the region.
Trip to Bethlehem in West Bank (Samaria), Palestine Jun 27,
The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية aḍ-Ḍaffah l-Ġarbiyyah, Hebrew: הגדה המערבית, HaGadah HaMa'aravit or Hebrew: יהודה והשומרון Yehuda ve-HaŠomron[1][2]) of the Jordan River is the landlocked[3] geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The West Bank also contains a significant coastline along the western bank of the Dead Sea. Since 1967, most of the West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation and is referred to as Judea and Samaria Area by Israel. A smaller part of the West Bank is administered by the Israeli civilian authorities as part of Jerusalem District.
For 400 years immediately prior to the First World War, the area now known as the West Bank was under Ottoman rule as part of the province of Syria. At the 1920 San Remo conference, the victorious Allied powers (UK, US, etc.) allocated the area to the British Mandate of Palestine. Following World War II, United Nations passed the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 (II) Future Government of Palestine which aimed to establish a two-state solution within Palestine. The Resolution designated the territory described as Samaria and Judea (now known as the West Bank) as part of the proposed Arab state, but following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War this area was captured by Trans-Jordan (renamed Jordan in 1949). The name West Bank was proposed by the Jordanian authorities to describe the area west of Jordan River. The 1949 Armistice Agreements defined its interim boundary. From 1948 until 1967, the area was under Jordanian rule, and Jordan did not officially relinquish its claim to the area until 1988, ceding its territorial claims to the PLO and eventually stripping West Bank Palestinians of Jordanian citizenship.[4][5] Jordan's claim was never formally recognized by the international community, with the exception of the United Kingdom.[6][7] The West Bank was occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War in June, 1967. With the exception of East Jerusalem and the former Israeli-Jordanian no man's land, the West Bank was not annexed by Israel but remained under Israeli military control. Most of the residents are Arabs, although a large number of Israeli settlements have been built in the region since 1967. Close to 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank settlements, annexed East Jerusalem and the former Israeli-Jordanian no man's land areas.[8]
The West Bank has a land area of 5,640 km2 (including East Jerusalem),[9] and 220 km2 water (the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea). Its population is 2,514,845 (June 2010)[10] according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS). Other Palestinian ministries indicate that its Arab population, excluding East Jerusalem, is 1.5 million.[citation needed]
Bethlehem Museum: Preserving Palestine's Heritage, Identity, and Culture
Learn about the critical role that the Bethlehem Museum plays in strengthening Palestinian identity, heritage, and culture in a modern context. Discussions will emphasize the various ways a museum can be developed as a center for saving cultural heritage, and also preserving a Palestinian Christian identity despite the political challenges presented by past and current events in the Near East.
Moderator:
Abigail Galván, Executive Assistant to the President and CEO and Special Programs Coordinator
Speakers:
1. Dr. Cynthia Finlayson, Associate Professor of Anthropology/Archeology and Museum Studies, Brigham Young University and Bethlehem Museum Consultant
HOLYLAND TOUR BETHLEHEM 2013
Palestine Travel Show: Part IV
We end this episode of the Palestine Travel Show by discovering the best of Ramallah with a visit to Arafat's Tomb, the Darwish museum, sampling famous ice cream and the party scene. We also join a peaceful protest in Bilin and end the day by discovering the origin of the good samaritan.
Bethlehem the city of jesus christ , Ats holy land association
Our mission is to support the Custody of the Holy Land in its tasks:
Preserving the Holy Places dear to Christianity
Supporting the Christian community in the Middle East
Promoting peace and dialogue
.
Help for the Little Ones is a project to promote the personal and social growth of needy children and youth. The complex political and economic situation strikes hard at the many children and adolescents who do not receive an adequate education. Many of them have troubles at school due to violent and extremely difficult family situations. In many of these families, the parents have no income and are burdened with many grave problems. In the territory of the Palestinian Authority there is no public medical assistance. The family, which does not receive any help other than from the parish, has to find the way to take care of all types of illness. If serious illness strikes (leukemia, tumors, kidney surgery or dialysis), the parish priest verifies the gravity and urgency of the need and seeks financial aid from the Custody of the Holy Land and private donors locally and internationally.
Video: In the Palestinian Territories: Hope and resistance through culture (Part 2)
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This is a region few travellers visit. For a century it’s been the centre of tension and a land fought over. But this tiny area packs in more historical, religious and cultural heritage than perhaps anywhere else in the world. Join us on tour of the Palestinian cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah, as we discover an art scene full of hope and resistance.
Fifty years after the occupation of the West Bank began, and 15 years since Israel's security wall was built, Eve Jackson visits Bethlehem to discover how local and international artists express themselves.
You can find Encore in the Palestinian Territories: Hope and resistance through culture: Part 1, by clicking here.
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Latin Patriarch arrives in Bethlehem for Christmas
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The Holy Places in Jerusalem amazing clip HD
Jerusalem : יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushaláyim, ISO 259-3 Yrušalaym, Abode of Peace; Arabic: القُد, al-Quds [al-Sharif], The Holy Sanctuary)[ii] is the capital of Israel, though not internationally recognized as such.[iii] If the area and population of East Jerusalem is included, it is Israel's largest city in both population and area. with a population of 763,800 residents over an area of 125.1 km2 (48.3 sq m Located in the Judean Mountains, between the Mediterranean Sea and the northern edge of the Dead Sea, modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the boundaries of the Old City.
Jerusalem is a holy city to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In Judaism, Jerusalem has been the holiest city since, according to the Torah, King David of Israel first established it as the capital of the united Kingdom of Israel in c. 1000 BCE, and his son Solomon commissioned the building of the First Temple in the city.[5] In Christianity, Jerusalem has been a holy city since, according to the New Testament, Jesus was crucified in c. 30 CE and 300 years later Saint Helena found the True Cross in the city. In Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city.[6][7] It became the first Qibla, the focal point for Muslim prayer (Salah) in 610 CE,[8] and, according to Islamic tradition, Muhammad made his Night Journey there ten years later.[9][10] As a result, and despite having an area of only 0.9 square kilometres (0.35 sq mi),[11] the Old City is home to sites of key religious importance, among them the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.
During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times.[12] The oldest part of the city was settled in the 4th millennium BCE, making Jerusalem one of the oldest cities in the world.[13] The old walled city, a World Heritage site, has been traditionally divided into four quarters, although the names used today—the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters—were introduced in the early 19th century.[14] The Old City was nominated for inclusion on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger by Jordan in 1982.[15]
Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli--Palestinian conflict. After the 1967 Arab Israeli War, Israel annexed East Jerusalem (which was controlled by Jordan following the 1948 war) and considers it a part of Israel, although the international community has rejected the annexation as illegal and considers East Jerusalem to be Palestinian territory held by Israel under military occupation.[16][17][18][19] Israel, however, considers the entire city to be a part of Israel following its annexation of East Jerusalem through the Jerusalem Law of 1980.
According to Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 208,000 Palestinians live in East Jerusalem, which is sought as a future capital of a future Palestinian state.[20][21][22]
All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the residences of the Prime Minister and President, and the Supreme Court. Jerusalem is home to the Hebrew University and to the Israel Museum with its Shrine of the Book. The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo has ranked consistently as Israel's top tourist attraction for Israelis
Bethlehem Voice - Father Jesu
Father Jesu speaks about the international Nativity Museum in Bethlehem
Palestine Bethlehem Project
This video contains the assignment of Tourism: Global Trends and Issues course.
Israel blocks Christians going to Bethlehem at Christmas
They even blocked Christian clergy! I quote- As the world celebrates this holiday season, Israel is blocking clergy from reaching their churches and Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem and elsewhere in the Holy Land. These Israeli actions are in blatant violation of international humanitarian law, block the right for religions to practice in the Holy Land, and defy every notion of basic common sense.
The Israeli authorities are arbitrarily denying entry to clergy and volunteers belonging to or working for Christian institutions and service providers. The clergy being harassed and denied entry to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) join tens of thousands of ordinary foreign passport holders of Palestinian and non-Palestinian origin who wish to be with their families, work or study, as well as tourists and pilgrims. This is especially sad at a time of spiritual reflection and reunion of families, friends and communities when major celebrations of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities coincide over the same period.
In a continuing demonstration of Israel's arbitrary denial of entry policy, and disregard for the Palestinian population's right to practice their religion and worship freely, Israel sends a clear message to the international community that it has no intention whatsoever to use the recent political movement at the Annapolis summit in Washington DC as a pretext to bring its actions in line with international law.
Furthermore, it appears that Israel has recently rescinded the year-long multiple entry visas commonly given to Arab clergy for churches in both Palestine and in Israel (see Haaretz, Israel Rescinds Arab Christian clergy travel rights in W. Bank, 27 October 2007). Under the new rule, clergy who are now abroad, despite their holding valid Israeli multiple entry visas, are being denied re-entry into Israel and the OPT, where many of their churches are located. Future travel by these clergy will have to be coordinated with multiple Israeli agencies in a process which can take more than a year to complete. The process is not transparent, efficient, or certain. Israel states that the request comes from security officials without citing any problems or infringements to justify the change, nor can anyone in the Christian community recall any such problems.
In addition, there appears to be a new policy by Israel to refuse entry or visa extension for foreign, primarily Western, Christian volunteers working with various Christian organizations here. This is affecting the viability of these organizations and the normal connection with their supporters and fellow Christians in the countries that contribute to the presence of these Christian workers. They represent mainstream Christian and faith-based groups, such as the World Council of Churches and the American Friend's Service Committee that advocate nonviolence and brotherhood and are in no way a threat to the security of Israel.
A more realistic explanation of Israel's new policy is that many Christian clergy and workers here have become extremely effective advocates for the Christian communities with the outside world, speaking to Christian and Jewish groups in the US and Europe and to the US Congress on the harm being done to local Christians by the separation wall and Israeli military occupation policies. It is more likely that the intent of the law is to silence these critics.
This has become an addition to Israel's unannounced policy which accelerated in early 2006 of arbitrary denial of entry to the OPT for foreign passport holding family members of Palestinian ID-holders, educators, business persons, health professionals, humanitarian works and others active in civil society. To date, despite high-level interventions by third state missions, international and human rights organizations, Israeli authorities have failed to provide a transparent policy on which foreign nationals wishing to enter or maintain their presence in the occupied Palestinian territory can rely. Instead, Israel has continued to pursue both policies and practices that fail to comply with international humanitarian law.
The Campaign calls on third states, religious leaders and congregations worldwide to protest Israel's actions harming the Church community and to demand a clear, transparent and lawful policy for all foreign nationals wishing to enter the Holy Land.
Year in Review-May: Visit to the Holy Land
In May, the pope visited Jordan, Israel and Palestine where he prayed for peace and unity among the Middle Eastern nations and among Christians, Jews and Muslims.
The first stop was Jordan, where he met with King Abdullah II and his wife Queen Rania.
Benedict XVI
My visit to Jordan gives me a welcome opportunity to speak of my deep respect for the Muslim community.
He visited the largest mosque in Amman, where he was greeted by Prince Ghazi, one of the voices at the forefront of dialogue between Christians and Muslims. The prince thanked the pope for apologizing for his statements on the prophet Muhammad in Germany.
PrinceGhazi ben Mohamad
It hardly needs to be said, moreover, that the Prophet Mohammad whom Muslims love, emulate and know as a living reality and spiritual presence, is completely and entirely different from the historical depictions of him in the West.
The pope then travelled to Israel. He visited the Yad Vashem Memorial Museum in Jerusalem, which pays tribute to the six million Jews who lost their lives in the Holocaust. Benedict said the tragedy must never be forgotten.
Benedict XVI
May the names of these victims never perish! May their suffering never be denied, belittled or forgotten! And may all people of goodwill remain vigilant in rooting out from the heart of man anything that could lead to tragedies such as this!
He visited the Western Wall, a holy site of the Jewish faith, and placed a written prayer between the stones.
Then he travelled to the Palestinian territories, where he was greeted by Mahmoud Abbas, who spoke out against the Israeli wall and about the difficulties faced by Palestinians in Jerusalem.
Mahmoud Abbas
President of the Palestinian National Authority
Here in the Holy Land, there are people that continue to build walls instead of building bridges. FLASH 10:37 Its time for the suffering to stop. Its time for love and peace to prevail.
Benedict XVI also visited a refugee camp in Bethlehem along the wall that separates Israel from Palestinian territory.
The pilgrimage concluded at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, which guards the places of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The pope made a strong appeal for peace among Jews and Palestinians. He asked the entire world to recognize Israel's right to exist and repeated that the Palestinians have a right to an independent and sovereign state. He implored that a solution to both problems not remain merely a dream.
JMB/DG/RS .
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Immanuel Evangelical Church - Bethlehem, Palestine
Presentation of Immanuel Evangelical Church - Bethlehem, Palestine. For more information, please visit
Prince Charles 'heartbroken' to see Palestinians suffering on his Israel trip - Live News 24
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Videos can use content-based copyright law contains reasonable use Fair Use ( PRINCE Charles has said he was heartbroken about Palestinian suffering as he visited the Occupied Territories. The Prince of Wales made the comments as he began his historic first visit to West Bank by walking through Bethlehem with Muslim and Christian leaders. Speaking at a reception in Bethlehem celebrating the ties between British and Palestinian people, the prince said: Elsewhere in the world too, I have endeavoured to build bridges between different religions so that we might learn from each other and be stronger together as a result. It breaks my heart therefore that we should continue to see so much suffering and division. No-one arriving in Bethlehem today could miss the signs of continued hardship and the situation you face. And I can only join you, and all communities, in your prayers for a just and lasting peace. We must pursue this cause with faith and determination, striving to heal the wounds which have caused such pain. It is my dearest wish that the future will bring freedom, justice and equality to all Palestinians, enabling you to thrive and to prosper. 'HISTORY WILL CHANGE' Charles made his speech at Casa Nova, a Franciscan pilgrim house close to the Church of the Nativity, where he spoke with church leaders and health and education officials. Palestinian health minister Dr Mai Kaileh was the senior political representative at the event. She told the prince of her hope that history will change and Palestinians will be given our right as Palestinian people with an independent state and Jerusalem as our capital. Charles also stopped to chat with a group of Palestinian refugees, among them Dr Abdelfattah Abu Srour, director of the Al Rowwad Centre in Aida refugee camp. He told the royal visitor that he works with children as young as eight who, when asked what they want to be when they grow up, have responded that they want to die because nobody cares. He said the prince replied: It is painful to hear that. Charles also spoke with another refugee, Rua Ahmad Abuoda, a 20-year-old engineering student and member of a women's empowerment group which works with mothers and disabled children in the Aida and Al-Azzeh refugee camps. She said: I spoke to him about disabled children. Some of them have been injured through Israeli soldiers and conflict. Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UK’s Campaigns Director, said: “Prince Charles’ words will resonate with many Palestinians because they appear to signal a recognition that half-a-century of Israeli military occupation has produced huge injustice. “For more than 50 years, Palestinians under Israeli occupation have endured years of discriminatory restrictions on their movement, with roadblocks, militarised checkpoi