Lower Thirds: 

0:03	Report by | Fanny Facsar
0:42	Fanny Facsar | DW Senior International Correspondent | Bethlehem, West Bank
1:22	Mahmoud Jundiyeh | Trainer
3:20	Courtesy: Instagram/Ms. Rachel

((info: To the West Bank, where a football pitch in a refugee camp is under an Israeli demolition order. It’s located right next to the so-called West Bank Separation Wall, built on land owned by the Armenian church. For the residents of the Aida camp it’s a haven of space and recreation. For the Israeli authorities it’s an unlicensed security matter. DW’s Fanny Facsar reports. ))

Script: 

TC 00:03 
For some of these young women, soccer is not just a hobby. A few have already played for the national team of Palestine.
Their dedication is infectious...[ATMO]... and reaches the very young – one of the girls here today is just seven.  

TC 00:19 
SOT Trainer [NO insert here!] “Yalla! Good, good, good!” [English]
About 250 children train here every week. Bisan joined one and a half years ago. 

TC 00:27 
SOT Bisan (Arabic, female) “I love to play soccer. My big dream is that one day I will meet and play with team [FC] Barcelona” 

00:34 
Just an ordinary soccer field, where ordinary children have the same dreams as millions of others.TC 00:40 
PTC Fanny Facsar, Senior International Correspondent, Aida refugee camp (English]
But nothing here in Aida camp is normal. When you zoom out, you can see that this soccer pitch lies right next to Israel’s separation wall. It blocks Palestinians here from going into Jerusalem - unless they have a special permit. Israeli authorities are not happy that the pitch is here - and they want it gone. 

TC 00:58 
It's been operating since 2021, but its days are now numbered.  A demolition order was issued in December, claiming the pitch lacks a building permit. When we asked the Israeli Defense Force about it, they said it was a security matter. Like the separation wall, that demolition order is widely considered illegal under international law.
TC 01:21
SOT Mahmoud Jundiyeh, Trainer (Arabic, male)  “What worries us the most: what will happen to the kids? Where will they go? What about their future? There is no other space! This is the only space for children to breathe.”

TC 01:30 
The pitch is the main playground in the Aida camp, one the most densely populated refugee camps in the Israeli occupied West Bank. Here the walls speak of Palestinian desire to return to the hometowns and villages they were displaced from as the result of the Arab-Israeli war of 1948.
TC 01:49 
Bisan was born here 11 years ago. Her neighborhood is scarred by Israeli raids. They’ve been more frequent since October 7, 2023. 
Bisan tells us how Israeli soldiers raided her family’s home two years ago. No-one was detained. 

TC 02:08 SOT Bisan (Arabic, female)
“It happened at night, we were sleeping, we heard a loud noise, my parents woke us up, they told us to get dressed, there are soldiers. Suddenly they came into our house. I was scared because they shot with a lot of teargas and we could not breathe”

TC 02:35 
The refugee camp is surrounded by Israeli watchtowers, settlements and checkpoints.
For Bisan soccer is a way out, away from the conflict. 

TC 02:46 SOT Bisan (Arabic, female)
 “Through soccer I can accomplish the things I want. I want to become a professional and play with the national team and travel”

TC 02:57 
But those ideas depend on the soccer pitch remaining. Without it, she can’t train.
TC 03:02 SOT Bisan (Arabic, female)
„My dream and the dream of the girls will vanish, and we will not allow them [Israeli military] to demolish it. No matter what happens” 

TC 03:12 
American children’s content creator „Ms. Rachel“ has picked up the issue, urging those with reach to help save the pitch. 

TC 03:19 
SOT Ms. Rachel “If you are FIFA or UEFA, or a famous soccer player, we need to help these kids.” (English) [Insert source: “Ms. Rachel/Instagram”]

TC 03:27 
So far they’ve heard nothing from FIFA or UEFA. Bisan and her friends don’t want to imagine a life without this pitch. Locals fear because they haven’t dug up the pitch as ordered that Israel’s military will move in once media attention fades. How long these Palestinian children can continue working toward their dreams: uncertain. TC 03:50 (+ Überhang) END.