Israeli authorities have ordered the demolition of a soccer field in an overcrowded refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, eliminating one of the few spaces where Palestinian children can run and play.
“If the field is demolished, it will destroy our dreams and our future. We cannot play anywhere other than this field, the camp has no space,” said Rital Sarhan, 13, who plays in a girls’ soccer team in the Aida refugee camp, near Bethlehem.
The Israeli military issued an order to demolish the soccer field on Dec. 31, saying it was built illegally in an area adjoining the Israeli-built concrete barrier in the West Bank.
“Along the security fence, a seizure order and a construction ban order are in effect; therefore, construction in the area was carried out illegally,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
Mohammad Abu Srour, administrator of the Aida Youth Center, which manages the field, said the army gave them seven days to demolish the field.
The Israeli army often orders Palestinians to carry out demolitions themselves. If they fail to act, the military steps in to destroy the structure in question and then sends the Palestinians a bill for the costs.
According to Abu Srour, the Israeli army told residents when it issued the demolition order that the soccer field posed a threat to the separation wall and to Israelis.
“I don’t know how that’s possible,” he said.
The Israeli demolitions have drawn widespread international criticism and coincide with heightened fears among Palestinians of an organized effort by Israel to formally annex the West Bank, the area seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
Israel accelerated demolitions in Palestinian refugee camps in early 2025, displacing 32,000 residents of camps in the central and northern West Bank.
Human Rights Watch called the demolitions a war crime. Israel said they aimed to disrupt militant activities.
