Did you know that in 2015 Palestine joined more than 85 other countries in being recognized as a national member association of the World Flying Disc Federation? Yes, Palestine has a national frisbee team! In fact, Ultimate Palestine has over 100 active Palestinian frisbee players! And you thought that an occupation would stop Palestinian vigilance in keeping up on international affairs — this time in sports. Ha! It has been a few years since we last covered the sports scene in Palestine, and the time has come essentially to update you on what is happening. Naturally, we were only able to focus on some of the main scenes in sports, but even these, in our opinion, would impress anyone.
Without further ado, a sincere thank you is in order to the Higher Council for Youth and Sports (HCYS), not only for covering the printing cost of this June 2019 issue of This Week in Palestine themed “The Rise of Sports in Palestine,” but also for contributing an article by General Jibril Al-Rajoub, President of HCYS, a second article on Palestine’s new sports facilities, and a third on the Palestine Marathon 2019.
We are also grateful to the Palestinian Football Association for a great article on football in Palestine and a focus on its national team Al-Fida’i. Thumbs up to the Palestinian Olympic Committee, a nongovernmental body, for an extremely informative piece on Palestine’s 42 sports federations and associations. A huge thank you also goes to the UNDP/PAPP for contributing five articles that have added much value to this issue. Lastly, make sure you read the short, yet meaningful, article about the Border Village League, a noble initiative by businessman Abdalla Yacoub that supports children who live in villages near the separation wall to play football. Our In the Limelight section is, as usual, rich and diverse and includes many pieces that should not be missed.
This Week in Palestine would also like to thank all the cultural centers, hotels, restaurants, tour operators, travel agents, and those managing miscellaneous attractions who have paid a small fee to have their names and contact information added to our lists of services offered in Palestine. We are almost certain that the exposure will benefit their institutions as much as it will help TWiP.
With summer vacation at the door, we wish all our readers a great summer and a relaxing holiday. This is no excuse, however, not to keep following us, particularly since we have some exciting issues coming up!

The TWiP Collective