UN, partner agency open first child-friendly spaces in West Bank refugee camp

The first ever child-friendly spaces were inaugurated Wednesday in Aida refugee camp in the West Bank's town of Bethlehem by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the Lajee Center, a community-based grassroots creative cultural center.

The new spaces -- a football pitch and a playground -- have been made possible with a generous contribution from the UN Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP) and will provide the children of Aida camp with a rare opportunity to play within a very challenging environment.

"The football pitch and playground inaugurated today are tremendously important for the well-being of the children of Aida Camp," said the commissioner-general of UNRWA, Pierre Krahenbuhl, in a press release.

"Together with our Palestinian and international partners, we are committed to continue supporting the children who have endured so much unacceptable pain and suffering," he said.

"The refugee children of Aida camp are particularly exposed to frequent confrontations, resulting violence and tear gas in the camp," the director of UNRWA Operations in the West Bank, Felipe Sanchez. said. "The playground and the football pitch provide a much-needed opportunity for these kids to play, have fun and for a moment forget about the daily challenges they face living under military occupation."

The inauguration came after several months of increased violence around Aida camp, with almost daily confrontations between Israeli security forces and Palestinians.

From Oct. 1, 2015 to Feb. 11, 2016, UNRWA recorded 93 incursions by Israeli forces into Aida camp, and more than 512 Palestine refugees, including 61 minors, were injured. Endit