Cutting a new path: Barber training helps rebuild lives for ex-detainees in the West Bank
ALI’S STORY
(Picture for illustrative purposes only.)
Ali is smiling as he cuts another young man’s hair. He looks sharp in his streetwear as he confidently cuts and trims. Yet the journey Ali has been on to get to this point has been fraught and at times the idea of a future and a career have felt out of reach.
Ali has grown up in Al Aroub Refugee Camp in Hebron, and at just 21, he has been detained in Israeli prisons three times. The last detention lasted for two years. After each release, Ali has been supported through Embrace’s partner the East Jerusalem (EJ) YMCA as part of their ‘Rehabilitation Programme’.
It is not uncommon for the children in this programme to be rearrested whilst they are trying to rebuild their lives. The Israeli authority’s system of military detention in the West Bank means children as young as 12 can be arrested, most commonly for the charge of stone throwing. Often they don’t know why they have been arrested or for how long they will be detained - hours, days or years. EJ-YMCA’s support workers tell us that this adds to the feelings of fear, hopelessness, uncertainty and anxiety when they are released.
Ali is from a supportive family with strong family bonds, but he struggled with anxiety, fear of re-arrest, sleep disturbances, and a persistent sense of insecurity. Social reintegration felt daunting, and his confidence was deeply shaken. The EJ-YMCA developed a personalised intervention plan focusing on psychological and social support, emotional recovery, and vocational guidance and training. Through regular counselling sessions Ali worked on managing stress, strengthening social connections, and restoring self-confidence.
The repeated detentions had interrupted his education, preventing him from completing High School, and denying him many opportunities to explore his potential. Once again, EJ-YMCA stepped in and Ali was referred to the programme’s vocational rehabilitation component to explore practical employment opportunities. Career guidance and vocational assessments revealed his strong interest and aptitude in men’s hairdressing. With encouragement from the EJ-YMCA team, Ali enrolled in a professional barber training course in Hebron.
Ali is continuing to hone is barber skills.
Even the training was not straightforward, the movement restrictions and road and city closures prevented him from attending from time to time, but Ali remained determined and completed his course. Now he is volunteering in his friend’s barbershop, gaining valuable experience and charting a course to self-employment which would provide essential income to his family. Like many in the West Bank, Ali’s father lost his job when the war in Gaza began, and the family of 8 have had to rely solely on the income from his mother’s teaching salary.
The future for Ali and his family is not certain, but Ali says to the support workers at the EJ-YMCA, “I thank you for everything. Despite the difficulties and challenges, I have become more hopeful.”
In March 2026 the State of Israel passed a new law that allows the death penalty for killings labelled as ‘acts of terrorism’. The law is clearly intended to target Palestinians, and is a frightening escalation, particularly in light of long‑standing evidence of unfair trials in Israeli military courts, including the use of torture to force confessions.
It is for young people like Ali, that Embrace and other organisations in the UK have written to the UK government to do everything in its power to get the government of Israel to repeal the discriminatory death penalty law that it adopted in March 2026.
There must be hope that young people who have been affected by the illegal occupation in the West Bank can rebuild their lives and work towards a peaceful and stable future for themselves and their families.
Embrace calls on UK Government to take concrete action in response to Israel’s Death Penalty Legislation
Israel passed new death penalty legislation in late March 2026, in response Embrace has signed a joint statement calling on the UK Government to take meaningful action. This law carries deeply worrying consequences for people our partners work with every day. By signing this statement, Embrace is standing shoulder to shoulder with our partners, speaking out against injustice and calling for protection for those most at risk.
» Read Statement «
