Press Release by Sharek Youth Forum
Strengthening the Resilience of the Palestinian People Amid Ongoing War: A Call to the Government and the International Community
June 18, 2025
As the Palestinian people continue to endure the ongoing war, the challenges to social cohesion and resilience in the face of persistent destruction and forced displacement are mounting. Despite these harsh conditions, Palestinians remain steadfast in their attachment to their land and rights, continuing to resist the occupation and confront the various threats undermining their social and economic stability.
The Sharek Youth Forum fully recognizes that strengthening resilience and community fortitude requires a comprehensive and sustainable response based on collective action, adherence to national identity, and psychological and economic support. While Palestinians face war, massacres, and forced displacement, there is an urgent need to develop national programs and local and international partnerships aimed at enhancing the Palestinian community’s ability to adapt and recover.
The current circumstances facing the Palestinian people—including ongoing infrastructure destruction, displacement of families, and the demolition of homes—require a coordinated response that includes:
* Providing food supplies and restoring electricity, water, and internet access in Gaza: It is critical to ensure the immediate and sustained entry of essential food supplies into Gaza to meet the population’s basic needs. Additionally, urgent action is needed to restore electricity, which has been severely disrupted and has significantly affected daily life. Access to clean water—now scarce due to the ongoing blockade—must also be reinstated. Furthermore, the internet, a vital tool for communication, education, and remote work in times of crisis, must be restored in Gaza.
* Strengthening psychosocial support programs: Sustainable, on-the-ground support programs are needed, particularly for children and women directly affected by psychological trauma.
* Promoting local economic development: Supporting small and medium-sized enterprises through soft loans and vocational training programs is essential to enhancing the Palestinian community’s ability to confront economic challenges.
* Utilizing technology to coordinate relief efforts: Social media and digital tools should be leveraged to enhance coordination between local communities and international organizations, facilitate aid delivery, and document human rights violations.
The Sharek Youth Forum also calls on the Palestinian government to unify efforts and strengthen coordination among governmental institutions, the private sector, and civil society to develop innovative solutions for sustaining life under harsh conditions. Establishing small-scale projects in villages and refugee camps and fostering a spirit of initiative among Palestinian youth can help reduce unemployment and promote economic self-reliance, sustaining community resilience.
In this context, Sharek also urges the international community to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and support them during these difficult times. This includes providing essential humanitarian aid and increasing pressure on the Israeli occupation to lift the blockade and restrictions imposed on Gaza and the West Bank.
Strengthening Palestinian resilience is a collective responsibility. It cannot be achieved without adopting a comprehensive strategy rooted in community and local cooperation, preserving national cultural values, and including all segments of the Palestinian population in developing innovative national solutions that contribute to building a better future.
Sharek Youth Forum reaffirms its commitment to providing support and enhancing social solidarity across Palestine, and to continuously working toward creating a safer and more stable environment for the Palestinian people in the face of war and death.
Sharek Youth Forum