IMEU Institute for Middle East Understanding
The streets of Bethlehem are filled with people, lights, and decorations every season around the Christmas holiday. While the Israeli occupation severely limits Palestinian movement to, from, and within the city believed to be Jesus' birthplace, thousands of Palestinians and visitors from around the world gather and celebrate with a great assortment of daily festivities.
on December 27, 2014
Khuza’a, a village in Khan Younis, was one of the many villages attacked during Israel’s ground invasion and aerial bombardment of Gaza in July and bore witness to horrific incidents of brutality. Two paramedics with the Palestine Red Crescent Society branch in Khan Younis share what they experienced during the few hours they were allowed to work in the village.
on December 12, 2014
Omar Mohammed Shaheen, a father of four, describes what it was like returning to his neighborhood in Beit Lahiya, Gaza after taking shelter in an UNRWA school during Israel’s latest assault.
on September 26, 2014
Sadness and shock were all I could feel when I entered the hospital room of the three Wahdan children, all seriously injured by an Israeli airstrike. The Wahdan family was one of the many that fled from border areas in Gaza in search of safer shelter only to be followed by Israeli warplanes.
on August 14, 2014
The Oakland Palestine Solidarity Mural is a monumental work of public art located in Uptown Oakland on 26th Street between Telegraph and Broadway. The mural pays homage to the history of Bay Area public art and expresses solidarity with Palestinians.
on August 13, 2014
"After nights of watching the shelling of eastern Gaza City from my apartment window, I was able to visit one of the most heavily bombed areas on August 5 during the ceasefire. I was shocked by the scenes of destruction in Sha'af."
on August 11, 2014
During the brief ceasefire on July 26, I traveled to Shoja'ea, a neighborhood in Gaza that was heavily bombarded by Israel a few days prior, resulting in close to 90 deaths in just one day. Dozens of houses and streets were destroyed. It looked like everything there was a target — humans, animals, and every stone.
on July 29, 2014
On July 25, the first time I left my house in 20 days since the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip began, I visited an UNRWA school full of thousands of refugees from Shoja'ea and Beit Hanoun. Families were sleeping on the ground and had nothing except the clothes they wore when they evacuated their homes.
on July 29, 2014
On Wednesday, July 23, 600 mock coffins were displayed in the Palestinian city of Ramallah to commemorate those killed in Gaza since Israel's offensive began on July 7.
on July 25, 2014