PLEASE PRAY FOR THE CHILDREN OF PALESTINE’S WEST BANK

Palestinian woman gives birth days after conditionally released from Israeli prison.

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK - SEPTEMBER 9: Palestinian woman Anhar al-Deek who was conditionally released from Israeli prison, is seen with her new-born baby at a hospital in Ramallah, West Bank on September 09, 2021. Israeli court ordered the conditional release of pregnant Palestinian prisoner Anhar al-Deek. Al-Deek was detained by Israeli forces five months ago on accusations of attempting to carry out a stabbing attack in an Israeli settlement built near her town. (Photo by Issam Rimawi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

LET CHILDREN LIVE CAMPAIGN

Please pray that the children and families of the West Bank are able to access health care.

Dear gracious and loving God we lift up the healthcare workers, patients, and medical institutions in the West Bank. In a region burdened by systemic strain, conflict, and restricted movement, we ask for your swift intervention, protection, and provision. Give superhuman energy and emotional resilience to the doctors, nurses, paramedics, and volunteers working under chronic stress and limited resources. Shield medical personnel, ambulances, and hospitals from violence, interference, and harm. Let clinics remain safe sanctuaries of healing. Guide the hands and minds of the medical teams as they make critical, split-second decisions to save lives with scarce equipment. All powerful and loving God we pray for the removal of barriers, checkpoints, and blockades that prevent sick children, pregnant mothers, and the injured from reaching specialized hospitals. Protect the volunteers and organizations fighting for their freedom of movement. Amen

Context: The Impact of the situation in the West Bank on healthcare

The right to health is not just a moral principle but a legal obligation recognized by international law. The World Health Organization’s constitution, adopted in 1946, affirms that enjoyment of the highest standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being. Unfortunately, the healthcare system in the West Bank is facing a severe crisis and is near collapse due to severe funding shortages, restricted movement, and escalating military operations.

Financial and Resource Shortages

• Revenue Withholding: Israel has withheld at least $2.5 billion in tax and customs revenues collected on behalf of the [Palestinian Authority (PA)

• Unpaid Salaries: Because of the fiscal crisis, the PA struggles to pay public sector workers, leaving healthcare personnel severely underpaid.

• Medicine Shortages: Non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of death in the West Bank, with heart disease, cancer and diabetes topping the list. The Palestinian Health Ministry has confirmed that hundreds of essential medicines are running critically low, including cancer treatments and dialysis drugs.

• Reduced Operations: Many public clinics and hospitals have cut back operations to only once or twice a week, working at a drastically reduced capacity.

Access Barriers and Movement Restrictions

• Checkpoints and Closures: Intensified road closures and military checkpoints turn routine medical transfers into dangerous ordeals, sometimes resulting in fatal delays.

• Raids and Infrastructure Damage: Frequent Israeli military incursions have damaged local infrastructure and restricted access to water, electricity, and medical facilities.

• Targeting of Health Missions: Human rights and health organizations, including the World Health Organization, have documented hundreds of attacks affecting medical staff, ambulances, and mobile clinics. Furthermore, the revocation of permits for numerous aid groups has hampered alternative efforts to bring care closer to vulnerable populations.

• Impact on Women: The West Bank healthcare crisis has a particularly severe impact on women. Maternal, sexual, and reproductive health services have been significantly disrupted, leaving many pregnant women without access to safe childbirth, emergency obstetric care, or essential medicines.  

Additional Resources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EasBK2VoAKQ

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/rights-group-warns-israels-policies-are-pushing-the-west-bank-healthcare-system-to-collapse

https://www.gchumanrights.org/preparedness/healthcare-under-pressure-challenges-facing-the-west-bank/

https://apnews.com/article/west-bank-healthcare-physicians-human-rights-israel-17a6c89efefa7e3ec07b3c68705ee043

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE CHILDREN OF PALESTINE’S WEST BANK

BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK - OCTOBER 22: Palestinian farmers harvest olive despite Israeli soldiers' harassments in Bethlehem, West Bank on October 22, 2025.

LET CHILDREN LIVE CAMPAIGN

Please pray that the children of West Bank olive farmers are unharmed during the olive harvest.

Pray to our gracious and loving God for a shield of protection over children, their families and friend undertaking great risks to harvest their produce. Pray that the farmers are able to access their olive groves. Pray that God protects them and their children from harassment and physical settler violence. Pray that the harvesters may enjoy solidarity and joyful interactions. Pray that the trees remain undamaged and that the harvest is plentiful. Pray that the farmers manage to take the olives harvested to presses in a timely manner and the olive oil to market to sell. Give praise to our Lord God, who through the mouth of his prophet proclaimed that one day “they shall sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees and no one shall make them afraid.” (Micah 4:4) Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer.

Context: The Impact of the Olive Harvest on West Bank Palestinian Families

The annual October olive harvest in the West Bank is a vital economic, social, and cultural anchor for Palestinian society, but it has increasingly become a period of severe physical danger, restricted movement, and economic loss due to escalating conflict.

• Livelihood Support: An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 West Bank families rely on the olive harvest from roughly 10 million olive trees for their livelihoods and income.

• Sector Value: The olive sub-sector injects between $160 million and $200 million into the Palestinian economy during productive years.

• Community tradition: Traditionally, the harvest season is a joyful event where families, friends, and local volunteers gather to pick olives and share meals.

• Identity and connection: Olive trees represent a profound, generational symbol of Palestinian connection to the land, history, and national identity.

• Settler violence: A sharp spike in Israeli settler attacks against harvesters includes physical assaults, stolen crops, and destruction of thousands of ancient olive trees.

• Fear and displacement: The combination of violence and restricted access turns daily harvesting into a life-threatening ordeal; some families abandon their lands.

• Exposure to Violence: Children accompanying their families to olive groves often suffer psychological trauma and injury from Israeli settler and military violence.

Additional Resources:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1976888377030038

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/israeli-bulldozers-smash-palestinian-olive-trees-ahead-annual-harvest-2026-09-23/

https://www.un.org/unispal/document/ohchr-remarks-21oct25/

A PRAYER FOR THE CHILDREN OF PALESTINE’S WEST BANK

LET CHILDREN LIVE CAMPAIGN

A child walks past scattered belongings and household items as a displaced family arrives at a new encampment in Ras Ein Al-Auja, West Bank, on November 28, 2025. The Mleihat family, repeatedly displaced since the Nakba, was forced to leave the nearby Al-Awsaj community after renewed pressure and incursions. Their expulsion is part of a wider pattern in the Jordan Valley, where more than one hundred Palestinian Bedouin communities have been uprooted in recent years. (Photo by Wahaj Bani Moufleh / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE CHILDREN OF PALESTINE’S WEST BANK

Please pray that the children of West Bank Bedouin families are able to survive.

Pray to our gracious and loving God for a shield of protection over Bedouin families, shepherds, and children who face rising regular harassment and physical settler violence. Pray that residential tents, structures, and schools are not demolished. Pray that families will not be forcibly relocated or driven from their ancestral grazing lands. Pray for steady, clean water sources to sustain the families, livestock, and crops in harsh desert temperatures. Pray for emotional healing, resilience, and comfort for parents and children living under chronic fear. Pray that the Bedouin’s rich, traditional nomadic hospitality and cultural heritage will not be erased.

Context: Factors Destroying Bedouin Life in the West Bank of Palestine

There are 40,000 Bedouin (5000 families) living in the West Bank. 2000 families live in refugee camps; 3000 families live in the areas of the West Bank that are under full Israeli authority. 117 predominantly Bedouin and herding communities in the occupied West Bank have faced either full or partial displacement due to settler attacks and related access restrictions between January 2023 and April 2026. In total, approximately 5,910 people (66% children) were forced to leave their homes.

Life for children in West Bank Bedouin families is marked by extreme hardship, constant fear of displacement, and severe lack of basic services.

• High rates of poverty mean that over half of these communities struggle with food shortages, and children suffer from malnutrition and stunted growth.

• Most communities lack reliable access to running water, electricity, proper roads, and nearby medical clinics, requiring trucked water and long travel times for healthcare.

• Schools are scarce or far away, and many children cannot complete their education because families lack the financial means or face dangerous travel conditions.

• Escalating harassment and attacks by Israeli settlers leave children deeply frightened, especially at night. Children are forced into repeated cycles of homelessness and displacement from their ancestral lands.

• Restrictions on movement and shrinking grazing lands destroy the traditional herding lifestyle, leaving the youth vulnerable to severe social disruption.

Additional Resources

https://www.amnesty.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Amnesty-International-Report-Erasing-anything-Palestinian.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7ccwByMQ24

A PRAYER FOR THE CHILDREN OF PALESTINE’S WEST BANK

JENIN, WEST BANK, PALESTINE - 2026/09/03: Palestinian farmers' kid sits next to a destroyed olive trees uprooted by Israeli army bulldozers in the village of Arraba, south of Jenin in the West Bank. The Israeli army claimed that the uprooted trees was for security reasons. Palestinian farmers said the Israeli army uprooted thousands of ancient olive trees and destroyed hundreds of dunams of land in Arraba. (Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Please pray that families of West Bank children are able to obtain food.

Almighty and merciful God, we lift up the children in the West Bank and all regions facing severe hardship, hunger, and displacement. God of compassion and justice, look with mercy upon the children and youth whose lives and daily needs are overshadowed by conflict and scarcity. Provide daily bread where food is hard to find, and shelter the innocent from fear, cold, and distress. Open the hearts of leaders and nations to rush life-saving aid and practical relief to every community in crisis. Strengthen the aid workers and neighbors laboring faithfully to care for the vulnerable, and grant us resolve to pray, advocate, and work for a world of lasting peace and safety. In your holy name, we pray. Amen.

Context: Factors Contributing to Food Insecurity in the West Bank of Palestine

• According to a report released in September 2026 by Peace Now and Kerem Navot, settlers have directly seized more than 24,700 acres of West Bank land over the past two and a half years.

• The Israeli government has enacted massive administrative land grabs. In total, the combined impact of government and settlers has restricted or permanently cut off Palestinians from over 31,000 acres of productive, agricultural, and grazing lands.

• Over the last 2-3 years, hundreds of thousands of sheep have been systematically stripped from Palestinian herders through targeted raids and the severe restriction of grazing lands. An average flock of 100 sheep represents roughly $98,600 USD.

• Livestock-dependent communities are affected by a Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak which causes high mortality in newborn and young animals, abortions in pregnant livestock, significant weight loss, and sharp drops in milk yields.

• Work permits for nearly 200,000 Palestinians employed in Israel were revoked after late 2023, depriving the local economy of roughly $400 million monthly.

• On 1 September, the World Food Programme (WFP)announced that, due to funding shortfalls, it has reduced its food assistance in the West Bank from 400,000 to 200,000 people for the remainder of 2026. An estimated 900,000 people are food insecure across the West Bank. 360,000 (40%) are children under 18.

Additional Resources

https://healthpolicy-watch.news/food-insecurity-westbank-gaza/

https://law4palestine.org/registering-dispossession-the-legal-architecture-of-palestinian-land-confiscation-and-erasure/

https://www.btselem.org/video/20260817_stealing_the_poor_mans_lamb_settlers_steal_sheep_and_goat_flocks_often_with_assistance_from_the_military

A PRAYER FOR THE CHILDREN OF PALESTINE'S WEST BANK

An Israeli dives into the waters of the ancient archaeological site of "Herod's Pool" near the Jewish settlement of Petzael, in the Israeli occupied Palestinian West Bank, in the Jordan Valley, after water was recently diverted into the site from a nearby spring, on June 15, 2026. Israeli officials are examining the unauthorized works and water diversion by Israeli settlers who have reportedly taken control of the archaeological site and diverted water from Palestinian farmland to fill the ancient pool. (Photo by ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images)

Please pray that families of West Bank children are able to obtain access to water.

God of life and mercy,
We lift up the people of the West Bank today, who thirst for clean and steady water.
Soothe the dry earth and fill the empty wells.
Protect the springs and streams that give life to families, farms, and communities.
Open closed gates and broken paths so that fresh water flows freely to every home.
Comfort those who worry for their children and their crops in the burning heat.

Comfort the children who need water to quench their thirst, wash their bodies, care for their gardens and prepare their food,

Console the children who see settlers frolicking in pools of water while they destroy the  Palestinian water sources.
Bring fairness, peace, and relief to a thirsty land.
Amen.

Context: Water Situation in the West Bank of Palestine

Palestinians in the West Bank face severe water shortages, extreme consumption inequality compared to Israelis, and restricted access to local springs and wells. Over 800,000 residents require water and sanitation assistance, with some rural communities receiving piped water only once every few weeks or months.

Supply and Distribution Imbalance

• Strict Quotas: Water allocations were set by interim 1990s agreements and have not scaled with the doubled Palestinian population.

• Consumption Gap: Average daily water consumption for Palestinians is roughly 82 liters per person, compared to over 240 liters for Israelis.

• High Costs: Because local well-drilling and spring access are heavily restricted, the Palestinian Authority buys extra water from Israel at high prices, and rural families rely on expensive truck delivery.

Infrastructure and Access Constraints

• Demolitions: Israeli authorities routinely demolish unauthorized Palestinian water cisterns, pipelines, and sanitation structures.

• Settler Violence: Fresh water springs and tanks are frequently targeted, vandalized, or seized by hardline Israeli settlers, worsening rural displacement.

Additional Resources

https://www.btselem.org/publications/202305_parched

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-occupied-west-bank-palestinian-taps-run-dry-2025-09-01/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm-iQOdD8nA

https://youtube.com/watch?v=vd6pGqFpdyw

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE CHILDREN OF PALESTINE’S WEST BANK

TULKARM, PALESTINE - 2026/03/30: Long queues of vehicles are seen gathering at a checkpoint in the West Bank. Israeli forces closed the Anab military checkpoint east of Tulkarm in the West Bank after soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian policeman. The army accused him of attempting to run over a group of soldiers at the checkpoint. (Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

LET CHILDREN LIVE. PLEASE PRAY FOR THE CHILDREN OF PALESTINE’S WEST BANK

Please pray that families of West Bank children are able to manage financially.

Pray that our merciful and gracious God protects and sustains the children and youth of the West Bank. Pray that the children’s parents may find work and that the children have food to sustain their bodies. Pray that our omniscient and omnipotent God address the systems of oppression and exploitation that are undermining viability of life in the West Bank; pray that the economic stranglehold on the West Bank is broken. Pray that West Bank youth are given a hopeful future rather than disappointment and disillusionment.

Context: Economic Situation in the West Bank of Palestine

The West Bank economy is teetering toward collapse, facing its deepest crisis in decades. The severe economic crisis has dramatically increased poverty, caused widespread food insecurity, forced children into labor and severely disrupted their education and daily life.

What are the causes of the economic collapse?

• Unemployment Surge: Work permits for nearly 200,000 Palestinians previously employed in Israel were revoked after late 2023, depriving the local economy of roughly $400 million monthly.

• Movement Restrictions: Hundreds of military checkpoints, closures, and roadblocks inside the territory restrict the transit of goods and labor, spiking consumer prices and strangling small businesses.

• Banking and Cash Crisis: Palestinian banks are overwhelmed with physical Israeli shekels because the Bank of Israel refuses to accept excess paper currency back, blocking electronic transfers and supplier payments. Furthermore, major Israeli banks are threatening to sever ties with West Bank correspondent banks.

• Fiscal Paralysis: The Palestinian Authority faces bankruptcy due to withheld customs clearance revenues and exhausted borrowing limits, leaving public servants and healthcare workers only partially paid.

Additional information:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fde4VHf_kE

https://jstreet.org/the-post-october-7-status-of-the-west-bank-economy/

https://reliefweb.int/attachments/edbedc27-7817-493a-a18f-b3c68b223016/The%20Unseen%20Crisis_02072025.pdf

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE CHILDREN OF PALESTINE’S WEST BANK

LET CHILDREN LIVE.

HEBRON, WEST BANK, PALESTINE - APRIL 19: Palestinian students and protesters stage a demonstration for Palestinian students who have been unable to attend school for a week due to Israeli settlers, blocking a road in the village of Umm al-Kheir in the Masafer Yatta region of Hebron, West Bank, Palestine on April 19, 2026. (Photo by Mamoun Wazwaz/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Please pray for West Bank school children struggling to continue their education:

Please ask our almighty God and loving Father to protect the children at military checkpoints, road closures, and community clashes as they travel to and from school. Pray that schools remain safe sanctuaries of learning, free from fear, disruption, and trauma- from attack and demolition. Pray God may provide His comfort, peace and resilience for children who experience displacement, home demolitions, or the loss of loved ones. Lift up teachers, school staff, and aid workers who provide stability and care under stressful difficult circumstances. Pray for a just and lasting peace in the region so that this generation of children experience hope and recovery and the next generation can grow up without the shadow of war.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Context: Impact of settler violence in the West Bank on children’s education

Settler violence in the West Bank disrupts children's education by threatening safe travel to classes, damaging school buildings, causing mass displacement, and creating severe psychological trauma that impairs learning.

• Dangerous commutes: Children face regular harassment, stone-throwing, physical assaults, and blocked roads enforced by settlers or military escorts while walking to school. The placement of physical obstacles, razor wire, and checkpoints cuts off entire rural and Bedouin communities from reaching their classrooms

• School infrastructure damage: Educational facilities near outposts or settlements experience direct vandalism, arson, and demolition.

• Forced migration: Coercive environments and ramped-up attacks force families to flee their villages, abruptly ending children's enrollment in local schools.

• Pervasive fear: Constant exposure to military raids, settler aggression, and community violence induces high levels of anxiety and post-traumatic stress.

Additional Reading: https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/22/middleeast/west-bank-settler-attack-school-intl

A Prayer for the Children of Palestine's West Bank

NABLUS, PALESTINE - 2026/07/21: A Palestinian child holds a portrait of his brothers detained in Israeli jails during a sit-in protest. Demonstrators held up portraits of their imprisoned sons during a sit-in protest at the entrance to the commercial market in downtown Nablus in the West Bank, demanding their release. They explained that their sons are living in deplorable conditions, suffering from severe shortage of food and medicine, and that they have not been able to visit them since October 7, 2023. (Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

LET CHILDREN LIVE. PLEASE PRAY FOR THE CHILDREN OF PALESTINE’S WEST BANK

Please pray for West Bank children imprisoned in Israeli detention centers:

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who releases the captive. We pray for the children of Hagar and Abraham who are currently enduring the privations of human bondage. Look upon these young souls with overwhelming grace and kindness. Grant them the strength and fortitude to face the indignities forced upon them, and let hope remain a fierce fire within their hearts. Hasten their release, O Lord, so that they may live lives of health, joy, and peace in the homeland of their ancestors.

A Judeo-Christian Prayer for Releasing the Captive

Context: Impact of imprisonment of Palestinian children in Israeli detention centers

Over 350 to 450 Palestinian children from the West Bank remain inside Israeli detention facilities. More than half of these detained minors are held under administrative detention. This allows authorities to imprison children without charge or trial based on secret evidence for renewable terms. The most frequent accusations involve stone-throwing or participating in demonstrations, which can carry long detention terms. Data shows a sharp increase in minors held for over a year without formal judicial proceedings.

• Night Raids: Arrests often happen during predawn or nighttime military incursions into West Bank towns and refugee camps, where armed soldiers enter homes and remove minors.

• Military Courts: Israel remains the primary jurisdiction that systematically prosecutes children through a military court system.

• Reports of Abuse: Detained children routinely report physical violence, beatings, strip-searches, and psychological intimidation during apprehension and interrogation without parents or lawyers present.

• Harsh Environments: Human rights groups and prisoner commissions cite severe overcrowding, lack of adequate food or clean water, and the spread of skin diseases like scabies due to poor hygiene.

• Isolation: Families and independent monitors, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, have faced severe restrictions or bans regarding visits and verification of prisoner well-being.

Additional reading: https://afsc.org/news/protecting-palestinian-childrens-lives-and-rights