Just outside ElBarrio Gym, situated in Ramallah, a pair of eager boys engage in a cheerful game of boxing under the waning daylight. The joy is evident in one’s face as he gently forms a fist, while the other erects a safeguard with his hands, shielding his body. Meanwhile, three girls stroll by, with boxing gloves in the grasp of one. Another girl seated on a park bench carefully retrieves a matching pair from her compact rucksack.
Inside the cooling environment of the gym, a team of females hold the plank pose, exhibiting their perseverance until the timer emits a beep. Their dedicated instructor, who is also a mother, has her infant stationed side by side in a carrier.
Hilariously pointing out the baby invasion, eighteen-year-old Mira Kharma, an aspiring photographer who lends a hand around the facility, remarks on boxing’s lacklustre popularity in Palestine. According to her, the sport garners attention but not to its rightful extent.
ElBarrio Gym is proud to be the training ground of Palestine’s first-ever Olympian pugilist, 20-year-old Waseem Abu Sal. Despite his false start in the qualifiers, his wild-card entry ensures his participation in the Paris games as a 57kg category contestant. He is one amongst a modest group of eight representing Palestine at the Olympic games.
Nader Jayousi, a member of Abu’s coaching team and the technical director for the Palestinian Olympic Committee, expressed the criticality of these games. In the wake of a threatened Palestinian national identity, Jayousi believes the Olympics serve as a significant event for Palestinians worldwide. Speaking via WhatsApp post his departure for Paris, he anticipates Abu Sal will impress with his performance. Still, as a young budding talent, he requires time for physical growth and maturity. Jayousi foresees the 2028 Olympics as their promising opportunity.
The gym, located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah – the administrative heart of Palestine, opened its doors in 2016. The country was diplomatically recognised as a state by Ireland in May. ElBarrio offers a range of physical activities including boxing, kickboxing, and CrossFit. An addition of MMA is on the cards upon Jayousi’s return from Paris. The gym hosts training sessions for adults and children alike.
Graffiti on the wall delivers the message “everyone has a strategy until they are hit in the face” and “each conflict is triumphed first in mind”, whilst Linkin Park and Jay-Z’s Numb/Encore roars from loudspeakers. On one side, individuals are lifting weights; on the other, they are jogging for a warm-up.
“Boxing in Palestine traces back to ancient times, but unfortunately, it was not fostered or managed by the right individuals,” Jayousi shared, expressing his regret about the historical sport in Palestine.
Travel restrictions enforced by Israeli military checkpoints in the West Bank can impede Palestinians from moving through them, posing significant challenges for travel abroad. These restrictions have notably affected the training of elite Palestinian athletes, as stated by Jayousi. “We encounter major hurdles concerning movement. We constantly need to apply and wait for visas, which drags out the entire process.”
As Jayousi highlights, the preparations of Palestinian athletes for the Olympics coincided with “another war erupting in the West Bank, not only confined to Gaza”.
Since long before the Hamas-driven attack from Gaza on October 7, 2023, Israeli military operations in the West Bank were common, mostly impacting northern cities but occasionally reaching Ramallah. Israeli settlers also engage in acts of violence. The UN’s Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Office reports that between October 7, 2023, and July 8, 2024, 553 Palestinians, including 131 children, lost their lives in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
On July 19, the Norwegian Refugee Council stated that over 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank were displaced due to actions by Israeli forces and settlers, and that roughly 160,000 were adversely impacted by demolitions in the first half of 2024.
Whilst the Israeli army claims to safeguard all inhabitants of the West Bank and to investigate any allegations against their soldiers, Jayousi also points towards the financial strain though commends the International Olympic Committee for looking after the boxers and supporting their international travels.
Jayousi spoke on the overwhelming psychological distress experienced by the Palestinians, accentuated by the ongoing crisis in Gaza. Their continuous grief and the daily loss of life are gradually eroding their spirits. The conflict in Gaza, culminating in a disturbing death toll nearing 40,000 since October 7th, as reported by the local health department run by Hamas, adds to this dread. Palestinians feel helpless witnessing their kin mercilessly killed each day.
In the midst of this terror, the forthcoming Olympics proffers a glimmer of hope and unity for the Palestinians.
Witnessing a fresh cohort of eager boxers in Ramallah, Kharma genuinely expressed her pride for Wasseem, while the attentive trainers monitored the training session carefully.