Mohammad Hureini is awarded the Student Peace Prize 2027, which was announced on October 31st 2026. Mohammad is a 22 years old palestinian activist. He is from Masafer Yatta in the West Bank, and has despite of his young age worked for many years. He is a cofounder of Youth of Sumud, where he and his brother works with documenting the human rights violations in the West Bank. His activism focuses on the right to live a free and dignified life, the right to education and documenting human rights violations in the West Bank.
Mohammad Hureini´s Work for Peace
For almost a decade, Mohammad Hureini has advocated for human rights, while documenting and raising awareness of human rights violations, the ongoing occupation and annexation of Palestinian land, and increasing settler violence in his home community of Masafer Yatta. Since the 1980s, the area has been declared a military zone and is used by the Israeli military for training, resulting in severe restrictions on local communities through roadblocks, movement limitations, and displacement. Today, Hureini is 22 years old and by the age of 18 he had already been arrested eight times because of his activism. Despite this, he has remained committed to non-violent activism in support for peace, freedom, access to education, and the protection of human rights for the Palestinian people. In 2017, Hureini and his brother founded Youth of Sumud, a grassroots initiative working to strengthen the local community and resisting the continued occupation of Palestinian land which has been going on for decades. A central aim of the organization is to empower younger generations to continue the struggle for human rights, peace, the right to education and the right to remain on their own land. This work is carried out in an extraordinarily difficult environment marked by increasing violence and military activity. In such circumstances, even accompanying children safely to school becomes an act of protection and a form of resistance.
The Student Peace Prize Committee places particular emphasis on Hureini’s courage and his willingness to take significant personal risks to safeguard the rights, safety, and educational opportunities of others. As a student activist he educates fellow students about the realities in his community and the ways in which they can advocate for change. He has spoken about how Israeli policies of fragmentation, isolation, and displacement, has affected the “sense of orientation” of young Palestinians, creating physical and social barriers between neighbourhoods. Through documentation, public outreach, and education, he works to preserve this sense of orientation by strengthening communities, fostering solidarity and safeguarding collective memory. He has also shared his experiences at universities across Europe, raising awareness and engaging international activists in human rights and peace building work in the West Bank. Collaboration and collective action are essential parts of his work.
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