From Response to Leadership: Palestinian Youth Face Crises and Demand a Role in Humanitarian Decision-Making

Occupied Palestinian Territory – As the world celebrates International Youth Day under the theme “Different Contexts... Common Aspirations,” which is observed annually on 12 August, the dreams and aspirations of Palestinian youth for education, employment, training and travel are similar to those of their peers around the world. However, they live in one of the most severe and challenging humanitarian contexts in the world, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, due to the unlawful Israeli occupation, blockade and repeated wars. Despite the harsh humanitarian and political conditions, they face, young people continue to play a pivotal role in responding to crises, supporting their communities and strengthening their resilience.

In the Gaza Strip, young people have lived for years under blockades and restrictions, while the ongoing war since October 2023 has exacerbated the challenges they face. Young people have lost their homes, family members and sources of income. Schools, universities and civilian infrastructure have suffered extensive damage, while they face repeated displacement, food insecurity and difficulties accessing water, healthcare, education and employment. In the West Bank, young people face increasing restrictions on movement, checkpoints, settlement expansion, violence and attacks on land and property, alongside high unemployment and declining economic and social opportunities, particularly in marginalized and restricted areas. These different contexts do not erase the commonalities and shared dreams between Palestinian youth and their peers around the world. They continue to dream of employment and training opportunities, the desire to live with dignity, access to education and work, participation in decisions that affect their lives, and building a safer and more just future.

These circumstances have driven Palestinian youth in Gaza and the West Bank to lead community initiatives, support displaced families, document needs and violations, support children and women, organize awareness campaigns, contribute to aid distribution, provide psychosocial support, and work to keep their communities cohesive under extraordinary circumstances. They also bear additional burdens related to protecting their families and communities and preserving their livelihoods and land. These roles indicate that Palestinian youth have become essential actors in the humanitarian response.

Mohammad, a young man from Gaza, said: “Our dreams may be similar to those of young people around the world in terms of education and employment, but our context in Gaza is different, where even our most basic rights have become dreams, such as finding water and food and feeling safe. Despite all this pain, we continue to dream of a better future away from occupation and war.

ActionAid Palestine stresses that these roles should not be viewed as a temporary response imposed by the war, but rather as clear evidence of Palestinian youth’s capacity for leadership and solution-building, and of the need to meaningfully involve them in all stages of humanitarian action, from identifying needs and designing programmes to implementing and evaluating them and making related decisions.

This role underscores the importance of moving from viewing young people as a group in need of assistance to recognizing them as partners and leaders in humanitarian action and decision-making. Young people, particularly young women, have direct knowledge of the needs of their communities and a strong capacity to develop local solutions and respond rapidly to crises.

The lack of recognition of young people’s partnership and effectiveness in humanitarian action highlights one of the greatest contradictions in the current humanitarian response: young people constitute a significant part of crisis-affected communities and work on the front lines of the response, yet their voices remain absent or limited in many of the spaces where humanitarian decisions are made. ActionAid Palestine stresses that youth participation must go beyond symbolic consultations or invitations to participate in specific events and activities. What is needed is meaningful participation that ensures young people have genuine seats and space in humanitarian decision-making and coordination processes.

Yousef, a young man and member of the local youth committees affiliated with Wefaq Association for Women and Child Care, said: “Palestinian youth are not merely recipients of aid; they are partners in creating change. We possess the knowledge and experience we have gained from our own reality. We lead community initiatives and respond to humanitarian needs every day. We demand genuine seats at decision-making tables and to be recognized as true partners in shaping the future of Palestine.”

Lina, a young woman from the Gaza Development and Social Forum, said: “The war has destroyed the dreams of many young people. Yet we have not stopped serving our community and implementing our community initiatives. Young people in the Gaza Strip are not only victims; they are also part of change and resilience.”

ActionAid Palestine works to strengthen youth leadership, support youth-led initiatives, provide safe spaces for participation, and enhance their role in humanitarian action and community accountability through its Programmes and partnerships with local organizations and youth-led initiatives. ActionAid Palestine supported the establishment of the Humanitarian Youth Group, which works to strengthen the participation of Palestinian youth in humanitarian discussions and processes and to connect their voices with humanitarian actors and decision-makers. It also supports local partners in establishing youth committees and groups to strengthen youth leadership during crises and emergencies.

ActionAid Palestine notes that the Palestinian experience offers an important lesson to the international humanitarian community: crisis-affected communities are not merely recipients of assistance, and young people are not merely a target group for programmes. They are knowledge holders, actors and leaders of change.

It must be emphasized that the future of humanitarian response in Palestine cannot be developed without the young people who are living through the crisis while responding to it at the same time. Therefore, recognition of their role must move from rhetoric to action. Palestinian youth are not asking to be present at decision-making tables merely for the sake of representation. They are demanding the right to have their voices heard, their local knowledge recognized and their expertise used in designing and reviewing humanitarian responses. This must also include ensuring the participation of young women and the most marginalized groups and preventing youth participation from becoming symbolic representation without any real influence over decisions that determine their present and future in Palestine.

Community resilience and a more just and effective humanitarian response cannot be built without placing young people at the centre, rather than at the margins, of humanitarian action.

As essential services decline, infrastructure is destroyed and opportunities for education and employment shrink, investing in young people becomes more important than ever. Investing in youth is investing in community resilience. Young people who lead local initiatives today are an essential part of their communities’ ability to survive and recover tomorrow. Therefore, support for them should not be limited to training or short-term activities. It should include flexible funding for youth-led initiatives, long-term psychosocial support, education and employment opportunities, leadership skills development, and strengthening their participation in decision-making processes.

About ActionAid International  

ActionAid International is a global federation working with over 41 million people living in more than 72 of the world's poorest countries. We envision a world characterized by justice and sustainability, where every individual has the right to a dignified life and freedom, and a world free from poverty and oppression. We strive to achieve social justice, gender equality, and eradicate poverty.  

ActionAid Palestine began its work in Palestine in 2007 to strengthen the resilience of the Palestinian people, believing in their right to enjoy freedom, justice, and self-determination. ActionAid Palestine implements several programs through its engagement with Palestinian communities and youth and women’s groups, aiming to empower women and youth and enhance their active civil and political participation to understand their rights and undertake collective action to address the rights violations resulting from the prolonged occupation, in addition to improving their leadership capacity and practicing their citizenship in holding authorities and other duty bearers accountable. 

For more information, please contact:  

Riham Jafari   

Communication and Advocacy Officer at ActionAid Palestine   

Email: Riham.Jafari@actionaid.org