Gaza kids in first Jerusalem visit
UN organises trip for 91 children — most of whom never left Gaza
It was a journey of just 80 kilometres, but for the 91 children who visited occupied Jerusalem on Sunday, it seemed like they had travelled to a distant world.
For the vast majority, it was their first trip outside of Gaza, the Israeli-blockaded enclave they call home. Selfie sticks abounded as they visited Al Haram Al Sharif, the third-holiest site in Islam, to pray. Razan Farrah, 12, enthusiastically taped the winding streets of the Old City, holding her cell phone up to the face of a bemusedlooking Western tourist and a passing ultra-Orthodox Jew.
Her eyes widened. “I haven’t seen them before.”
Just a small number of Gaza’s residents are granted permission to leave, with both Israel and Egypt imposing restrictions on travel and trade. Israel says it issued 80,000 permits in 2016, for a population of 2 million. They go to the urgently sick and others with exceptional needs for travel.
But this year the number of permits granted has drastically dropped, according to rights groups, with about half as many issued.
With Gaza cut off from the West Bank, it was also the first time most of the children had seen the rest of Palestine — and for some, relatives who live there.
Lubad filmed the Dome of the Rock, the site where Muslims believe Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) ascended to heaven, with his phone. “We have a picture of it at home, but in reality it’s so huge.”
With Gaza cut off from the West Bank, it was also the first time most of the children had seen the rest of Palestine.