PALESTINIAN teenagers parted by Israeli borders and checkpoints in their homeland wrapped up a two-week cultural tour of Wales today. 

The youths, from the West Bank and Jerusalem, were visiting as part of the Beyond The Checkpoints youth project, an initiative that brings together Palestinians normally separated by walls, military checkpoints, settlements and restricted military zones. The teenagers met for the first time during the trip.

During their stay, the group immersed themselves in a range of activities. They honed their football skills with Cardiff City star Yousef Salech, sang alongside Cor Meibion Morlais male voice choir with the Lewis Merthyr Band, tried their hand at quilt making at Pontypridd Museum, and explored the Lewis Merthyr Colliery at Rhondda Heritage Park in Porth.

Liz Holyoak, lead organiser for Rhondda Cynon Taf Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said the visit had been “one of the greatest pleasures of my life.”

The tour culminated in a cultural event at Cardiff’s Temple of Peace, where the teenagers shared stories about life under Israeli occupation and Jewish settler violence against their families. 

The event, sponsored by TUC Cymru, also featured oud music and a traditional Palestinian dabke dance.

Cardiff-based oud player Salih Hassan told the audience: “Yesterday I was reunited with my country, people and community. 

“When they started singing Yam ma Mwail Elhawa I struggled to stop the drop of tear which was going to pour. You brought Palestine to me,” he said.

The group visited 13 towns in total during their trip, also venturing outside Wales to Chester and Ludlow before setting off homeward from London. 

The project was managed by the Camden Abu-Dis Friendship Association (Cadfa), a charity dedicated to raising awareness about the human rights situation in Palestine.

Part of the charity’s work involves organising regular trips that foster meaningful, lasting cultural exchanges between Palestinian and British young people, while also raising awareness of the ongoing human rights crisis in Palestine.

Cadfa said the Beyond the Checkpoints was an aspirational name for the project, as “checkpoints clamp down everywhere and the nightmares continue.”