A community under threat
For more than 40 years, Israeli authorities have sought to forcibly displace Palestinian residents from Masafer Yatta, a cluster of villages in the southern occupied West Bank. In the 1980s, much of the area was declared by the authorities a closed military zone known as ‘Firing Zone 918’. The zone spans approximately 8,000 acres of privately owned Palestinian agricultural land and encompasses 18 communities, 3 of which were largely depopulated following violent settler expulsions in 2000 and 2022.
The impact of the hostilities in Gaza that began in October 2023 reverberated across the West Bank, with Masafer Yatta among the hardest-hit areas. Increased settler violence, military operations, movement restrictions, demolitions and forced displacement have deepened the vulnerability of communities already living under decades of pressure. In June 2025, the Israeli military announced that Firing Zone 918 would be used for large-scale military exercises amid the regional escalation with Iran. According to legal counsel representing the affected communities, the announcement called for the evacuation of the area's 1,200 residents. Hundreds of structures – including 280 homes and 4 donor-funded schools – remain under threat of demolition.
From fear to learning and growth
With the support of the European Union, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is helping children in Masafer Yatta cope with the psychological impact of this environment. Around 500 children live in these communities, where repeated attacks and uncertainty have left many struggling with fear and stress.
NRC's education programme has trained 6 local facilitators – 5 women and 1 man – to deliver play-based recreational activities 2 to 3 times a week in their own villages. While NRC usually works through schools, Israeli movement restrictions often prevent teachers from outside Masafer Yatta from reaching them. By training facilitators from within the communities, the programme can continue even when access is restricted.
Today, 86 children – equally divided between boys and girls – participate in the EU-funded programme across 4 communities: Jinba, Majaz, Isfey al-Fauqa, and Tuba.
The children are provided with social-emotional learning and recreational activities. They learn how to interact with others, express their feelings, strengthen their personalities, understand their lives, forgive others and – most importantly – dream. Given our reality in Palestine, we really need to dream.
For 12-year-old Zohour from Tuba, the sessions offer practical ways to cope with fear.
‘These activities are enjoyable. We learnt what to do when we are afraid and how to calm ourselves down. I learnt how to find my safe place’, Zohour explains.
Last year, 6 settlers came and attacked our house and burnt a car. My cousin and I were inside. We didn't understand what was happening.
Education under pressure: keeping learning alive
Between January 2021 and June 2025, the UN documented 132 settler attacks against communities living in the firing zone, injuring 77 Palestinians (including 10 children) and damaging homes and property.
Impact since 2021:
Children from Tuba no longer have safe access to the nearby al-Tuwani school after roads were blocked by settlers and movement was restricted by the Israeli military. They now attend classes in Isfey al-Fauqa, where the school – demolished by the Israeli military in 2022 – continues to operate from community-provided tents and temporary rooms.
‘Continuous settler attacks have deeply affected us, especially the children. Fear has become stronger than our sense of safety’, says Mariam, 31, from Tuba, whose children attend the activities.
These sessions have given them comfort, confidence and positive energy. They wait eagerly for the day they can come and play. They have become calmer and are learning to express themselves in positive ways.
Schooling in Masafer Yatta is also disrupted by Israeli restrictions and the Palestinian Authority's financial crisis, leaving many children in class for only up to 3 days a week. NRC's recreational programme takes place on the days when children are not in school, providing not only psychosocial support but also opportunities to reinforce learning and social development.
As teachers and parents have reported growing difficulties in reading and writing among children across the West Bank, these EU-funded activities play a crucial role in complementing their education and addressing learning gaps.
