IMEU Institute for Middle East Understanding
Israel has effectively barred more than 100 Gaza runners from participating in a Palestinian marathon in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Friday, by failing to issue permits for the athletes to leave the coastal territory. The Palestinian Athletics Union in Gaza and the Palestinian Olympic Committee in Ramallah compiled a list pf potential participants and reported they had submitted it two weeks ago to the Palestinian civil committee in charge of coordinating the permits with Israel.
on April 1, 2016
Real Madrid made a young fan's dream come true this week when they flew Ahmad Dawabsha, a Palestinian orphan, to the Santiago Bernabeu for an extensive tour. The five-year-old was the only survivor of an attack in the West Bank last year that killed his parents and brother.
on March 19, 2016
Amber Fares was living in Ramallah when a friend invited her to a street car race at Yasser Arafat’s old helicopter landing pad. It was here, amidst the crowds, the music and the cars revving that she met the Speed Sisters. “There were a couple of girls putting helmets on their heads and getting ready to race,” recalls Fares.
on March 9, 2016
His life has been a nightmare, but now little Ahmed Dawabsheh is ready to live out a dream. The five-year-old Palestinian boy has been undergoing months of surgery and treatment for burns suffered during a firebombing attack on his West Bank home by right wing Israeli's that killed the rest of his family.
on March 7, 2016
It is early morning in Ramallah and Mohammed al-Khatib is busy warming up before a training session at the local school running track. The 25-year-old aspires to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio as a professional athlete. He also wants to do it for Palestine. It hasn’t been an easy journey for Khatib, who plans to run the 100-200m sprint double.
on March 4, 2016
Palestinian-American Profiles
Rami Ibrahim, the longest active Muay Thai fighter in North American history, originally hails from the Palestinian town of Silwad, and is carving out a name for Palestinians in the world of combat sports. The No.1 ranked fighter in the United States and 10th in the world, Ibrahim is the only professional Muay Thai fighter who holds ten championship titles.
on February 25, 2016
A new Palestinian satellite sports channel is to carry out a pilot transmission on Wednesday, with plans to start regular broadcasts in the summer, one of its founders said Saturday. Wael Romana, director of the Palestinian Sport Channel, told AFP it would cover Wednesday's friendly between the Palestinian and Algerian Olympic football teams in Algeria.
on February 13, 2016
Munching on dates for energy, 25-year-old Mohamed al-Khatib starts his morning at sunrise, hoping for an opportunity to use a track field at a local high school in Ramallah. Khatib is a yoga and fitness instructor who is training for a chance to attend the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil and race in the 100-meter and 200-meter track and field events.
on November 24, 2015
A new documentary film aims to celebrate the Palestinian pursuit of happiness in spite of Israel’s occupation. Focusing on the Palestinian Circus School in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah and filmed entirely by the director Courtney Coulson, Welcome to the Circus documents a month-long visit to the school from members of the LIDO Circus School in Toulouse, France.
on October 26, 2015