PK Gaza (Gaza Parkour) is a parkour and freerunning team based in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. The team was established in 2005 by a group of young athletes who were introduced to parkour through online videos. Despite the constraints of living in a conflict zone, the team has continued their commitment to the sport. PK Gaza practices parkour as a way to navigate physical and psychological obstacles, promoting movement in a region where access and mobility are frequently restricted due to the ongoing conflict.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
History
In 2005, while living in Khan Yunis refugee camp, friends Mohammed Al-Jakhbir and Abdallah Inshasi,[7][8] were introduced to parkour after watching parkour videos on YouTube. After that Ahmed Matar, Abdallab Al-Qassab, Jehad Abu-Sultan, Mousa Amer and others joined the team .[9][10][11][12][13][14]
The team did not have access to parkour coaches, and taught themselves skills by watching videos online.[8] They began training in the cemetery, and started to film their movements and published their videos online, the group slowly gained popularity.[9][15][16]
Parkour allowed the athletes to express themselves, mentally escape from their surroundings, and inspire others in Gaza.[17][10][18]
By 2012, the Gaza Parkour team had grown to 18 members, aged between 17 and 25.[10] In 2013, AlJakhbir and Inshasi moved to Sweden.[1][9] After they left Gaza, Matar became the team leader. In 2016, Matar was invited to compete in a parkour event in Sweden, and he decided to stay there. Following Matar's departure, Abdallah AlQassab took over leadership of the team in Gaza.[8][19][20]
PK Gaza were featured in the 2011 short film Free Running Gaza.[21]
