26/07/2026
“Here at the theatre school, I feel safe and forget everything.”
In a powerful investigation published by The Sunday Times, Chief Foreign Correspondent Christina Lamb documents the devastating reality facing Palestinian children across the occupied West Bank: children killed by Israeli forces, families terrorised by settler violence, communities forcibly displaced, and daily life fragmented by military gates, checkpoints and closures.
The article begins with the killing of seven-month-old Sam Abu Haikal, who was shot while sitting on his mother’s lap inside the family car in Hebron. It goes on to tell the stories of other Palestinian children and families whose lives have been shattered by violence, fear and a system of near-total impunity.
According to figures cited in the investigation, at least 259 Palestinian children have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 2023.
After travelling through communities across the West Bank, Lamb concludes her report in Jenin, where she finds what she describes as “a ray of hope for Palestinian children” at The Freedom Theatre’s summer camp.
For 17 days, 85 children between the ages of six and fifteen took part in theatre, dance, circus, visual arts and creative activities—many of them displaced from Jenin Refugee Camp or living with the consequences of military violence, loss and arrest.
“Our children have so many issues on their shoulders, and we want to give them some space to breathe and show them they can still have hopes and dreams,” The Freedom Theatre’s General Manager, Mustafa Sheta, told The Sunday Times.
The article also shares the story of twelve-year-old Talla, displaced from Jenin Refugee Camp, who dreams of becoming an actor or an engineer:
“It’s very hard growing up under occupation. But here in the theatre school, I feel safe and forget everything.”
In a reality shaped by violence and dispossession, cultural spaces are not a luxury. They are places of protection, imagination, healing and survival.
Read the full investigation by Christina Lamb in The Sunday Times:
https://www.thetimes.com/article/dfd08641-c1a5-43c6-9f22-e6b2289738e0?shareToken=5c397525c0ecb4e2d3c5d15915a6e61a