Palestinian Village Holds Annual Kite Festival in West Bank

Residents of the Palestinian village of Burin held their annual kite festival on July 10, 2026. The event took place on a hillside overlooking the Israeli settlement of Har Bracha, a location marked by long-standing land disputes and settler encroachment.

Ghassan Najjar, the festival organizer, stated that the gathering serves as both a recreational activity for children and a political statement of attachment to the land. The event has been held every summer since 2009, though participants reported checking for nearby Israeli settlers before gathering due to security concerns. Previous years saw the festival canceled following attacks in the region.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has previously warned of settler violence in the area, including shootings and the uprooting of olive trees. Organizers maintain that the festival allows children to exercise their right to play while asserting that the land and sky remain their own.