Before the 1990s, Israel's official language was taught in many Palestinian schools in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994 Hebrew has lost its status.
Tensions between the two peoples, the second Intifada, and the four wars between Israel and Hamas - who controls the Gaza Strip - have pushed many Palestinians to despise Hebrew. For years, it has been branded as "the language of the enemy". Very few wanted to learn it, and those who opted to do so were viewed with suspicion by society.
Yet, this negative attitude towards the language appears to be changing. Last June, Israel welcomed a new government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. From the very beginning, his coalition - which is comprised of several liberal parties - has vowed to improve the nation's security situation, and the idea was that it would make a few concessions to Hamas in exchange for long-lasting quiet in the country.
One such concession is the decision to
grant work permits to some 10,000 Gazans, who have been struggling to make a living in the impoverished enclave, where poverty and unemployment rates have reached unprecedented levels.
Following that move in October of last year, tens of thousands of Gazans lined up outside chambers of commerce across the enclave in the hopes of obtaining permits to
work inside Israel. And many also rushed to enroll in Hebrew classes to study the language of their future employers.
Salim Shamali, a 39-year-old father of six from the Gaza Strip, says he joined Hebrew classes a month ago, shortly after he submitted his papers to the Israeli authorities to obtain a work permit.
Shamali is far from being alone. Ahmed Al-Falit, a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip, has been teaching the language for years, and he says his business is now booming.
Al-Falit says he understands the urge and the curiosity to study Hebrew. He himself learned it in an Israeli prison, where he had been incarcerated for 20 years on charges of terrorism. Just as many other inmates, he managed to obtain a university degree while serving his sentence. When he was released in 2011 as
part of the Gilad Shalit deal, he decided to use that knowledge and turn it into a profession.
The teacher says his students share his views. For them, it is an opportunity to improve their living conditions and put food on the table, and Shamali, who has been enjoying Al-Falit's classes reassures that studying Hebrew has even improved his attitude towards Israel and its people.
"These classes have enabled me to learn more about Israeli culture and its people. Suddenly, I realised that many of them, those who immigrated from Arab countries, share our culture. And what I also realised is that they too want to live in peace", concluded Shamali.