This is not a Palestinian problem and Ahmed and Hala should not be left alone. Around the world, parents understand instinctively what is at stake. In Israel, teacher strikes and school closures dominate headlines because parents know how deeply education shapes a child’s future. In Europe and the United States, debates over school funding, teacher shortages, and access reflect the recognition that education is a fundamental social responsibility. Palestinian parents are asking for nothing different.

Yet in the West Bank, schooling has become conditional and parents are expected to raise children without the basic support any society owes its families. Every disruption to education compounds uncertainty, makes it harder to work, to plan, to protect mental health, and to teach children the principles of nonviolence and dignity. This is the cost of occupation at home. Not in headlines, but in parents’ daily calculations: how to keep children grounded, safe, and hopeful when the future is shrinking around them.

At Combatants for Peace, we stand with parents who are fighting to raise children who still believe in a future, and who can see that nonviolence is a path forward. Later this week, we will be leading a tour in Nablus to meet students, parents, and teachers directly affected by the shortened school week. The tour will provide an opportunity to hear first-hand about the emotional and practical impact of the education crisis, with space for discussion with mental health experts. Journalists will join us to document the situation, helping to ensure that the voices of those living this crisis every day are heard, and that their stories reach a wider audience.

Learn more about our Education Under Occupation campaign here, and join us in standing with Palestinian children and their families to protect their right to learn.

In peace & solidarity