Palestinian Territories

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has touched every aspect of the lives of people living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The building of the Wall in the West Bank has meant that people have to travel many miles to get to work or to access basic facilities. Many Palestinian people can no longer access their land and poverty levels have increased dramatically.

The Gaza strip is a territorial unit in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It has faced a blockade by Israel since 2007, which has led to Gaza being almost wholly dependent on international aid. Young people in the Gaza strip not only face high unemployment, limits on their freedom of movement and violence due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but also increasing cultural restrictions.

Y Care International supports two local YMCAs in the region, the East Jerusalem YMCA, established in in 1949, and the Gaza YMCA, established in 1952. We have been working in the OPT since 1984, supporting rehabilitation work for disabled young people, vocational training and employment projects for disadvantaged young people and humanitarian response during emergencies.