Years After Second Uprising Palestinians Still Face Bleak Future

Palestinians who grew up in the shadow of the second intifada (uprising) against Israeli occupation say they have no future | AFP
Palestinians who grew up in the shadow of the second intifada (uprising) against Israeli occupation say they have no future | AFP
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Years After Second Uprising Palestinians Still Face Bleak Future

Palestinians who grew up in the shadow of the second intifada (uprising) against Israeli occupation say they have no future | AFP
Palestinians who grew up in the shadow of the second intifada (uprising) against Israeli occupation say they have no future | AFP

Two decades on from the second intifada, Palestinians who grew up in the shadow of the uprising find themselves surrounded by physical and political barriers with little hope for the future.

In Jenin refugee camp, in the north of the occupied West Bank, the walls are plastered with posters showing young Palestinian men wearing keffiyeh scarfs around their necks and clutching AK-47 assault rifles.

Whether killed by Israeli forces or jailed, their images have faded over the years.

"When I walk through the camp, I try to reconcile my memory with what I see today," said Nidal Naghnaghyeh Turkeman, 48, who spent 17 years in prison for his role in the uprising.

Nidal fought in the ranks of the main Palestinian faction Fatah in the first intifada (1987 to 1993) which preceded a brief optimistic period when the Oslo peace accords brought hope of a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But by the turn of the century disillusionment had set in and the second intifada broke out after right-wing Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem on September 28, 2000.

The move was seen as a provocation by Palestinians and violent clashes between them and Israeli forces followed.

The second intifada lasted five years, during which attacks were carried out in Israel, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank.

In response, Israel reoccupied much of the West Bank and began building a separation barrier between the two communities that in places cuts deep into occupied territory.

Jenin refugee camp was caught up in the violence and in 2002 was besieged by Israeli forces for more than a month.

Turkeman, who lost two brothers in the fighting, was jailed for his role in an attack shortly after the siege which killed six Israeli civilians.

- 'Emigration or fighting' -

While reminders of the uprising can be seen on the streets of Jenin, such as a former fighter selling grapes in a wheelchair, daily life has changed significantly over the past two decades.

Israel built the West Bank security barrier -- which Palestinians call an apartheid wall separating them from Jerusalem -- saying it was necessary to prevent attacks.

In Gaza, the militant group Hamas took power and the impoverished and densely-populated coastal enclave has been under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007.

In December 2017, US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, going against international consensus that the city's status can only be defined as part of a peace accord.

Turkeman's twin daughters, Yara and Sara, were born just weeks before the siege and saw little of their father growing up.

"At the start we rejected him. We couldn't find a place for him in our hearts," said Sara, an 18-year-old studying IT at university.

Despite having no memories of the second intifada, the twins say their father is still viewed as a hero by young Palestinians in Jenin.

"Today, we are still in the intifada, there are attacks every day, people wounded and nothing has been solved," said Sara, her sister nodding her head in agreement.

"There is no future here, the only two options are emigration or fighting."

- 'Loss of hope' -

The Israeli military controls 60 percent of the West Bank and many Palestinians lament how the occupation has been normalized over the decades following the unrealized Oslo accords.

The Palestinian leadership has slammed agreements Israel signed with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain at a September 15 White House ceremony hosted by Trump.

But their calls for protest have largely fallen flat with young Palestinians who, according to analyst Ghassan Khatib, "feel really isolated and deprived" of any role in politics.

"There haven't been elections for 15 years and with the economic crisis... young people think more about trying to find a job," said the Palestinian expert.

There is a marked generational gap between 60 percent of the Palestinian population who are under 30, according to United Nations data, and the leadership of 84-year-old Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

"The crisis of this generation really started during the second intifada," said Khatib.

"Palestinian youth began to understand that neither the peace process nor armed combat worked, this led to a loss of hope," he added.

In the streets of Jenin, 20-year-old barber Oday says his priority is to earn money to support his family and then get married.

"We talk more about what the Israeli army does, the (house) demolitions, attacks, those wounded," said Oday, who spends his free time playing video games.

The Israeli army regularly demolishes Palestinian homes built without permits -- which are almost impossible to obtain -- or those belonging to people suspected of carrying out attacks.

In Abu Dis, which is on the outskirts of annexed east Jerusalem and cut off from the city center by the barrier, fallout from the uprising looms large.

"Life must have been better for the previous generation, because there were no walls, checkpoints, and there were job opportunities," said 18-year-old Aya.

Studying to become a carer, Aya must pass through an Israeli checkpoint to travel from her home to the nearby Al-Quds University.

Gazing at the high concrete wall, Muayed, a 22-year-old law student, said it represented the "biggest example" of the challenges young Palestinians face.

- 'We have no future' -

In Gaza, Palestinians are facing considerably worse conditions, with the Israeli blockade leading to perennial power cuts, a lack of clean water, and a youth unemployment rate hitting 65 percent, according to World Bank data.

"Here, we have no future," said Saja Emad, a 20-year-old Gazan.

"There's the blockade, we can't travel, Hamas and Fatah are divided, and there's no work for young people. We are frustrated and don't have hope anymore of seeing a Palestinian state in the near future."

Since Hamas took over the enclave in 2007 after bloody clashes with Abbas's Fatah, it has fought three wars with Israel, while thousands of Gazans have been shot by Israeli forces during protests at the border fence.

The protests at the fence started in March 2018 and ended late last year without significant Israeli concessions, ridding many young Palestinians of their hopes for political change.

But while many Palestinians are focusing on just getting by, in Jenin, Turkeman believes a third "and bigger" intifada will erupt one day.

"I'm still trying to get to know my daughters, to build bridges with them, and like me, they think that the fight must continue because they are suffering," he said.



Egypt’s Prime Minister and FM Head to Washington for Trump Peace Council Meeting

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)
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Egypt’s Prime Minister and FM Head to Washington for Trump Peace Council Meeting

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint press conference with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary/Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP)

Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly headed to Washington on Tuesday ‌to ‌participate in ‌the inaugural ⁠meeting of a "Board of Peace" established by US President Donald ⁠Trump, the ‌cabinet ‌said.

Madbouly is ‌attending ‌on behalf of President Abdel ‌Fattah al-Sisi and is accompanied by ⁠Foreign ⁠Minister Badr Abdelatty.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar will represent Israel at the inaugural meeting, his office said on Tuesday.

Hamas, meanwhile, called on the newly-formed board to pressure Israel to halt what it described as ongoing violations of the ceasefire in Gaza.

The Board of Peace, of which Trump is the chairman, was initially designed to oversee the Gaza truce and the territory's reconstruction after the war between Hamas and Israel.

But its purpose has since morphed into resolving all sorts of international conflicts, triggering fears the US president wants to create a rival to the United Nations.

Saar will first attend a ministerial level UN Security Council meeting in New York on Wednesday, and on Thursday he "will represent Israel at the inaugural session of the board, chaired by Trump in Washington DC, where he will present Israel's position", his office said in a statement.

It was initially reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might attend the gathering, but his office said last week that he would not.

Ahead of the meeting, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP that the Palestinian movement urged the board's members "to take serious action to compel the Israeli occupation to stop its violations in Gaza".

"The war of genocide against the Strip is still ongoing -- through killing, displacement, siege, and starvation -- which have not stopped until this very moment," he added.

He also called for the board to work to support the newly formed Palestinian technocratic committee meant to oversee the day-to-day governance of post-war Gaza "so that relief and reconstruction efforts in Gaza can commence".

Announcing the creation of the board in January, Trump also unveiled plans to establish a "Gaza Executive Board" operating under the body.

The executive board would include Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi.

Netanyahu has strongly objected to their inclusion.

Since Trump launched his "Board of Peace" at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, at least 19 countries have signed its founding charter.


Palestinian Child Dies After Stepping on Mine in West Bank

Israeli troops conduct a military raid in the village of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, West Bank, 17 February 2026. (EPA)
Israeli troops conduct a military raid in the village of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, West Bank, 17 February 2026. (EPA)
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Palestinian Child Dies After Stepping on Mine in West Bank

Israeli troops conduct a military raid in the village of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, West Bank, 17 February 2026. (EPA)
Israeli troops conduct a military raid in the village of Al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, West Bank, 17 February 2026. (EPA)

A Palestinian child died after stepping on a mine near an Israeli military camp in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, with an Israeli defense ministry source confirming the death.

"Our crews received the body of a 13-year-old child who was killed after a mine exploded in one of the old camps in Jiftlik in the northern Jordan Valley," the Red Crescent said in a statement.

A source at COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry's agency in charge of civilian matters in the Palestinian territories, confirmed the death to AFP and identified the boy as Mohammed Abu Dalah, from the village of Jiftlik.

Israel's military had previously said in a statement that three Palestinians were injured "as a result of playing with unexploded ordnance", without specifying their ages.

It added that the area of the incident, Tirzah, is "a military camp in the area of the Jordan Valley", near Jiftlik and close to the Jordanian border.

"This area is a live-fire zone and entry into it is prohibited," the military said.

Jiftlik village council head Ahmad Ghawanmeh told AFP that three children, the oldest of whom was 16, were collecting herbs near the military base when they detonated a mine.

Jiftlik as well as the nearby Tirzah base are located in the Palestinian territory's Area C, which falls under direct Israeli control.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

Much of the area near the border with Jordan -- which Israel signed a peace deal with in 1994 -- remains mined.

In January, Israel's defense ministry said it had begun demining the border area as part of construction works for a new barrier it says aims to stem weapons smuggling.


Hezbollah Rejects Disarmament Plan and Government’s Four-Month Timeline

29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
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Hezbollah Rejects Disarmament Plan and Government’s Four-Month Timeline

29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)
29 July 2024, Iran, Tehran: Then Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during a meeting in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/dpa)

Hezbollah rejected on Tuesday the Lebanese government's decision to grant the army at least four months to advance the second phase of a nationwide disarmament plan, saying it would not accept what it sees as a move serving Israel.

Lebanon's cabinet tasked the army in August 2025 with drawing up and beginning to implement a plan to bring all armed groups' weapons under state control, a bid aimed primarily at disarming Hezbollah after its devastating ‌war with ‌Israel in 2024.

In September 2025 the cabinet formally ‌welcomed ⁠the army's plan to ⁠disarm the Iran-backed Shiite party, although it did not set a clear timeframe and cautioned that the military's limited capabilities and ongoing Israeli strikes could hinder progress.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a speech on Monday that "what the Lebanese government is doing by focusing on disarmament is a major mistake because this issue serves the goals of Israeli ⁠aggression".

Lebanon's Information Minister Paul Morcos said during a press ‌conference late on Monday after ‌a cabinet meeting that the government had taken note of the army's monthly ‌report on its arms control plan that includes restricting weapons in ‌areas north of the Litani River up to the Awali River in Sidon, and granted it four months.

"The required time frame is four months, renewable depending on available capabilities, Israeli attacks and field obstacles,” he said.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan ‌Fadlallah said, "we cannot be lenient," signaling the group's rejection of the timeline and the broader approach to ⁠the issue of ⁠its weapons.

Hezbollah has rejected the disarmament effort as a misstep while Israel continues to target Lebanon, and Shiite ministers walked out of the cabinet session in protest.

Israel has said Hezbollah's disarmament is a security priority, arguing that the group's weapons outside Lebanese state control pose a direct threat to its security.

Israeli officials say any disarmament plan must be fully and effectively implemented, especially in areas close to the border, and that continued Hezbollah military activity constitutes a violation of relevant international resolutions.

Israel has also said it will continue what it describes as action to prevent the entrenchment or arming of hostile actors in Lebanon until cross-border threats are eliminated.