ICSPR Launches the Palestinian Youth Forum Toward a Unified Youth Voice and a National Vision to Renew Political Life and Shape the Future

Date: 22 October 2026

Press Release

ICSPR Launches the Palestinian Youth Forum: Toward a Unified Youth Voice and a National Vision to Renew Political Life and Shape the Future

With the participation of young leaders from Palestine and the diaspora, the Forum opens a pathway for dialogue, initiative, and democratic participation, and discusses proposals to establish a youth legislative council and a youth shadow government

On Wednesday evening, 21 October 2026, the International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) held the first founding meeting of the Palestinian Youth Forum via videoconference. Dozens of young leaders from Palestinian communities inside Palestine and in the diaspora participated in the meeting, in a step aimed at building an inclusive youth framework that expresses the aspirations of new generations, strengthens their participation in public life, and contributes to shaping a democratic national vision that responds to current challenges, looks toward the future, and protects the rights of young people and the Palestinian people.

The meeting was opened by Dr. Salah Abdel Ati, ICSPR’s Director-General, who affirmed that Palestinian youth are not merely a group waiting for solutions or receiving the outcomes of decisions, but genuine partners in decision-making, renewing political life, building institutions, and strengthening national unity. He stressed that the current phase, with its national, humanitarian, political, and social challenges, requires investing young people’s energy and experience and opening space for them to initiate, organize, and exert influence. This rests on the conviction that youth have the right to shape their own future and that of their people, and that enabling their effective participation is an essential condition for building a democratic and renewed political system.

Participants discussed the reality of Palestinian youth under occupation, the consequences of the war on the Gaza Strip, the challenges of recovery and reconstruction, the escalation of settlement activity and settler attacks in the West Bank, unemployment, declining economic and social opportunities, weak political participation, and youth’s limited presence in decision-making positions. They stressed the need to move from treating youth as a marginalized group or recipients of services to recognizing them as an active national and societal force, through protecting their economic, social, and political rights, expanding their opportunities for participation, and strengthening their role in setting priorities, shaping public policies, and renewing democratic legitimacy.

The meeting also discussed youth’s role in ending division, strengthening national unity, reconciliation, and civil peace, building trust among components of society, and developing community initiatives and national dialogue. Participants emphasized the importance of youth engagement in the upcoming elections through candidacy, voting, electoral awareness, and civic monitoring, in ways that strengthen popular participation, accountability, democratic alternation of power, and respect for citizens’ free will.

Participants also discussed the importance of building a comprehensive picture of the situation of Palestinian youth in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jerusalem, the 1948 territories, refugee camps, and Palestinian communities in the diaspora; documenting their needs, challenges, and priorities; and connecting youth initiatives and experiences across geographic boundaries. This pathway aims to bring youth voices to national institutions, decision-makers, and the international community, and to translate their demands and aspirations into policy papers, practical initiatives, and advocacy and change programmes.

Participants agreed to work gradually toward building a sustainable youth forum based on participation, pluralism, respect for difference, and collective action. They also agreed to develop organizational mechanisms and effective communication channels, form specialized groups and committees, organize monthly dialogue meetings, workshops, community initiatives, and advocacy campaigns, and draw on previous youth experiences and accumulated expertise. These steps aim to ensure the Forum’s continuity and its ability to move from dialogue and the exchange of ideas to initiative, influence, and the production of results.

As part of the search for innovative tools to strengthen youth participation and oversight, participants discussed the idea of studying the establishment of a Palestinian Youth Legislative Council and a Youth Shadow Government. These were proposed as civic initiatives for training in public affairs, dialogue on policies, monitoring national issues, discussing public performance, and preparing a qualified generation of young people for participation in democratic life. It was emphasized that both proposals remain under study, discussion, and development, and do not constitute a substitute for elected official institutions or democratic legitimacy.

ICSPR announced its readiness to provide technical and training support to the Forum through capacity-building in human rights, research, policy-paper development, dialogue and debate facilitation, community initiatives, digital advocacy, and engagement with national and international institutions. A plan was also proposed to organize an annual forum titled “The Voice of Palestinian Youth” and to hold a unifying event on 12 December 2026, with youth participation from various Palestinian communities inside Palestine and in the diaspora. Organizational arrangements will be completed during a follow-up meeting to be held within approximately ten days.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Forum issued an open invitation to Palestinian youth, groups, initiatives, and youth institutions to participate in building it and developing its programmes, and to contribute to shaping an inclusive national youth vision based on rights, dignity, citizenship, and democratic participation. This vision should connect youth’s daily priorities with the project of national liberation and the rebuilding of the political system on the foundations of partnership, accountability, and renewed legitimacy.

ICSPR affirmed that the launch of the Palestinian Youth Forum represents the beginning of a cumulative national process, not a passing event. It aims to transform dispersed youth energy and experience into an organized societal force capable of initiative and influence, strengthen youth presence in shaping national priorities, defend rights, and participate in building the future. Palestinian youth are not only the future of the cause; they are an integral part of its present and the makers of its next path. Genuine democratic renewal and sustainable national unity cannot be achieved without their effective participation and partnership in decision-making.