World Vision is committed to partnering with both Palestinians and Israelis to improve their lives today and to help enact sustainable solutions for the future of their children, families, and communities. World Vision’s child sponsorship program plays a vital role in the lives of children in the region, with donors from the United States sponsoring more than 11,700 girls and boys. In addition to sponsorship, World Vision operates other programs that benefit Palestinian and Israeli communities. Highlights include:

• Providing vocational training in sewing, embroidery, knitting, cosmetics, hairdressing, and computer literacy.
• Promoting peace-building by bringing bereaved family members from both sides together in an effort to reconcile and heal.
• Improving the well-being of children and their families in the West Bank through school renovations, adequate school supplies, road construction, and other inventions.

World Vision began working in the region in 1975, opening a secondary school for boys in Bethlehem that same year. Since then, some of World Vision’s major accomplishments include:

• Improving the availability and quality of education for children in the West Bank and Gaza.
• Providing counseling, individual treatment, and family and group therapy to over 1,000 children and adults.
• Assisting families through agricultural training, housing and school renovation, healthcare services, and other interventions since the beginning of the 21st century.
• Distributing emergency kits to families after the Gaza crisis and providing recovery assistance since late 2008.

Geography and people

Israel and the Palestinian Territories (the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem) are located in the Middle East on or near the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The West Bank sits to the east of Israel, while the Gaza Strip sits to the southwest, bordering Egypt.

The region contains low coastal plains, central mountain ranges, a rugged upland plateau in the east, and the Negev Desert in the south of Israel. The climate is temperate, with hot summers and mild winters.

Natural resources include timber, copper, natural gas, clay, and sand for Israel, and arable land for the West Bank.

Three-quarters of people in the modern State of Israel are Jews and the rest are of Arab descent. Palestinian Arabs make up more than 99 percent of the Gaza Strip’s population and a vast majority of the people in the West Bank, although there is a large and increasing number of Israelis living in West Bank settlements.

In the Palestinian Territories, Arabic is the primary language, while many also speak English and Hebrew. In Israel, Hebrew and Arabic are the two official languages; many people also speak English or Russian.

History

Over the last 5,000 years, many peoples have claimed the land comprised of present-day Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Arabs controlled the region until the 7th century, and Muslims ruled until the 20th century. Increased Jewish immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries added to the small Jewish community and the indigenous Palestinian population.

After World War II, the region’s Jewish population declared establishment of the State of Israel. Most of the Palestinians and surrounding countries opposed the move and war broke out. After a year, a ceasefire was declared and Jordan governed the West Bank, while Egypt administered the Gaza Strip.

In 1967, Israel defeated Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian forces during the Six-Day War. The war displaced many people within the West Bank and Gaza Strip, creating one of the world’s biggest and longest-running refugee crises.

Shortly after the war, the UN unanimously passed Security Council resolution 242, which required withdrawal of armed forces from occupied territories, peace within secure borders, implementation of several security measures, and a just settlement to the refugee crisis. It has been widely accepted by all parties that this serves as a primary basis for a peaceful resolution.

After further conflict and a peace treaty (the Oslo Accord) during the 1990s that failed due to breaches on all sides, the international community pushed for renewed peace negotiations in 2007-2008. Peace talks still continue.

Please pray for:

Peace and healing within this region.

Children to have a safe and healthy environment, free from violence and fear, so they are able to grow up and positively contribute to society.