"My son got his ID card and saw his future being taken away."

When you turn 16 and get your ID card, that is now a problem. A year ago I tried to help my 16-year-old son get a permit so that he can travel abroad. They said that we couldn’t get a permit, he needed to get an ID card because he is now 16 and then needed to go through a security check to get a travel permit.

My son was angry, he is 16, why should he need to go through a security check and investigation?  

When I was 16, getting your ID card was a point of pride. I got my ID card and we celebrated. It meant I was a man. My son got his ID card and saw his future being taken away.

He can’t travel; he has been limited to the reality of Gaza. Becoming an adult is now seen as a burden, not the opening of opportunity. … We need to be concerned about the young generation that is growing up under blockade.  

People with families in other parts of the occupied Palestinian territory are blocked from seeing their relatives.