This week dozens of Palestinians, including nine children, have been killed by an Israeli bombing in Gaza. This tragic event comes as the latest in a series of escalating acts of violence during he month of Ramadan as Palestinian communities have been threatened with forced displacement and increasingly restrictive treatment, particularly in Jerusalem.

Over 80% of Palestinians rely on international aid for day-to-day survival, and with Palestinians being left out of Israel’s vaccination efforts, basic steps for protecting against the pandemic are out of reach for many families. AFSC's Mike Merryman-Lotze explains the situation, and shows some of the ways we're working to provide emergency assistance to Palestinians in need.

Under Israel’s prolonged military occupation, millions of Palestinians are denied their basic rights. Since 2000, more than 10,000 Palestinian children in the West Bank have been arrested and held in Israeli military detention, where their rights to protection and due process are systematically violated. And since 2006, at least 12,767 Palestinians, including 5,700 children, have lost their homes under Israeli policies that fuel forced displacement and home demolitions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

In the United States, anyone age 16 or over can now schedule an appointment to get vaccinated against COVID-19. But in most places around the world, residents are waiting to have access to this life-saving protection. That includes my mother, who is over 90 years old and has no idea when she’ll have her shot at the vaccine. 

Everyone deserves dignity and justice. But in the United States, 2.3 million people are locked away in prisons, jails, and detention centers, where they are subject to civil and human rights violations and a lack of access to adequate health care.