Navigating the West Bank's roads and news

For Ahmad Frehat, daily decisions – when to leave his West Bank home, which route to take – depend in great part on the roads. Similarly, verifying information is no longer simply a digital skill but an indispensable tool for navigating life. Earlier this year, Ahmad participated in Bread and Salt, a project aimed at supporting peaceful dialogue and helping young people to verify the news they encounter. He described to DW Akademie's local coordinator in the West Bank, Jamal Saad, how he applies what he learned from the project, now that he's back in his own community.

My name is Ahmad Frehat. I am 24 years old and come from the town of Al-Yamun, west of Jenin. I studied English Language and Literature at Al-Quds Open University and I work as a project coordinator at Omniah Youth Center. 

I first joined the center as a volunteer in 2021. I gradually moved into project coordination. Perhaps this is why I feel particularly close to the volunteers. I remember how I started and how even a small opportunity can open a new path for a young person. 

Omniah Youth Center works with young people in the field of community development. It organizes activities based on psychosocial support, awareness raising, health education and initiatives responding to community needs. Our work is not limited to Jenin city; it also reaches the refugee camp and different villages and towns across the region. For me, this environment makes my work more than just a job. Every day, it brings me face-to-face with people, their needs and their challenges. 

Starting my day 

My day usually begins at around 5 a.m. I drink my coffee, pray and then open my phone. I follow the news from Jenin and Al-Yamun and try to understand the situation on the roads before I start my day. 

The news is not simply something I read in the morning. Sometimes, one piece of information determines when I travel, which road I take and whether participants and volunteers will be able to reach the center. 

The journey from Al-Yamun to Jenin usually takes between 20 and 30 minutes, but road closures or changing conditions can cause delays. 

I normally leave Al-Yamun between 7 and 7:30 a.m. When I arrive at the center, I open the office, turn on the computer, check my emails and WhatsApp messages and begin reviewing the activity schedule and preparations. 

My work does not remain inside the office. I follow field activities with the team, check how they are progressing and what participants and volunteers need, while also keeping an eye on the roads and the situation around us. 

My phone accompanies me through most of these details. I use it to communicate with the team and volunteers, but it is also my main window to the news. 

In the past, I might see a news story or an image circulating on Facebook and have doubts about whether it was true, but I did not know how to verify it. If the information seemed logical or was being widely shared, I might be inclined to believe it. 

Becoming less impulsive 

After participating in a Media and Information Literacy training in July 2026, I began dealing with news differently. Now, when I see a news story, I try not to react immediately. I stop and look at the source, check the date and context of the image, use tools such as Google Lens to search for it and compare the information across more than one source. If it concerns a road or a security-related incident, I try to reach a reliable source before basing any decision on what I have read. 

Over time, I have noticed that this change of habit is not only technical. I have become less impulsive and less frightened by breaking news. When I verify information, I feel that I can make decisions more calmly — for myself, for my family and for the volunteers. 

I understood the importance of this even more clearly after an incident that I still remember well. A report once circulated on Facebook and WhatsApp claiming that a park had been targeted and that there were casualties. The news spread quickly and, at first, I believed it, as many others did. I even shared a post about it, although I was not completely sure whether it was true. 

Later, it turned out that the information was false. 

What and when to share 

That experience made me think about what it means to share information without verifying it. A single piece of false information can frighten a family, stop someone from going to work, or encourage people to unnecessarily gather. In times of emergency, misinformation can become much more than just a post on a phone. 

That is why I have become more aware of the responsibility carried by one small button: “Share.” 

After the training, I wanted to pass what I had learned onto others. I brought together a dozen volunteers at Omniah Youth Center and we spent nearly three hours discussing how to verify images, how to deal with misleading information and why we need to stop before sharing any unverified content. 

For me, that moment was important. The knowledge was no longer mine alone. I want these skills to reach the volunteers and for them, in turn, to pass them on to their families and friends. 

The journey home 

Before returning to Al-Yamun at the end of the day, I open my phone once again. I check the road conditions to make sure the journey home is safe for me and for the volunteers. In this way, my day begins with information and ends with information as well. 

In the evening, I spend time with my parents. Sometimes they see a news story or an image and ask me whether it is true. We now search for the source together and examine the image before believing it or discussing it with others. 

For me, again, at the end of the day, real training does not end when we leave the training room. It begins when we encounter the first piece of news and decide not to rush. We may not be able to stop all misinformation in our daily lives, but we can make sure that we are not part of spreading it. 

“Bread and Salt: Getting Together to Talk” is a three-year project from DW Akademie, which is funded by the European Union Peacebuilding Initiative (EUPI). The project helps young people decrease social conflicts in the Palestinian territories and verify the news they encounter.