The Challenges of Palestinian Scientists Amidst Conflict

For decades, the pursuit of a scientific career in the Palestinian territories has been tough. Things took a dramatic turn on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, sparking a war in the Gaza Strip that's lasted more than a year. As Israel responded with bombings and invasions to target Hamas, schools were destroyed, and students had to either continue studying online or stop entirely. Doctors were left to work in increasingly challenging conditions. Even Palestinians living outside the territory felt the impact. The New York Times spoke with four Palestinian scientists living in different areas, including Gaza, the West Bank, and abroad. They shared how the conflict affected their scientific research and medical work. One of them, Wafaa Khater, 49, grew up in the West Bank, a region west of the Jordan River that's been under Israeli occupation since 1967. She moved to Norway to earn her Ph. D. in physics from the University of Bergen. Despite the option to stay in Norway permanently, she returned to the West Bank in the early 2000s, during the Palestinians' second uprising against the Israeli occupation. "Everyone in Norway thought I was crazy, " she remembered. "But I told them, 'It's my home, and I have a mission here. '”