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Ibrahim and Omar Ali were sitting in their home in Minnesota, scrolling on Instagram when they came across Kyrie Irvings page.
The Dallas Mavericks guard had posted a new profile picture back in April: a Palestinian child in the occupied West Bank, sitting while holding a book, fenced in by barbed wire.
His path to school is impeded.
The child is fearfully looking behind him, as three Israeli soldiers approach.
Advertisement Ibrahim and Omar intimately understood the photo.
The feelings behind it.
The fear.
The uncertainty.
The fences.
The soldiers.
The frustration in simply trying to relax.
To read.
To exist.
The photo epitomized much of what their own upbringing was like in the West Bank before they moved to Minnesota in August 2024 to pursue their basketball dreams in America at the collegiate level and maybe even beyond.
The brothers are entering rare territory, paving the way for the next generation of Palestinian hoopers.
Ibrahim, 20, is blazing a trail as the only Palestinian-American born in the West Bank competing on a mens college basketball roster at any level.
Hes a 6-foot-6 sophomore at Gustavus Adolphus College (St.
Peter, Minn.) who helped the team make the NCAA Division III Sweet 16 last season as a freshman.
Omar, 17, who is 6 feet 9, has a chance to take the mantle even further.
Hes a senior at DeLaSalle High (Minneapolis) who helped lead his team to the Class AAA state championship game.
He is currently receiving interest from a handful of college programs, including several low-major Division I schools.
Omar also has shown promise on the AAU circuit this summer, giving hope to the next generation of Palestinian-American players in the diaspora that competing at the next level is possible.
Me being one of the youngest kids who came out of Palestine, and went to the U.S., and got the chance to actually go somewhere with it, Omar says, Im trying to take that chance to the highest level and then inspire everybody back home.
Life is much different now in Minnesota for the two brothers than it was during their upbringing in the West Bank, but many of those earlier difficult experiences helped instill a tenacity and relentlessness with which they are pursuing their hoop dreams.
Advertisement No matter how far they travel for tournaments during the weekends this summer, they are still reminded of their past.
Of the realities of the occupation.
You live every day uncertain of whats going to happen next, Ibrahim says.
Youve got to be cautious.
Youve got to be careful at all times.
One second you could be in school.
Ten minutes later ..
soldiers are raiding the school ..
bombing and closing the streets right outside our school.
They remember the checkpoints that threatened them and their family.
They remember the Israeli-controlled water system often being shut off.
They remember their basketball games being canceled because of violence on the roads.
And they remember not knowing which home on their street soldiers would raid next.
This is the life we were given, Ibrahim says.
They are determined to take the sport as far as they can farther than their father, Ala Ali, could have ever dreamed.
Ala grew up under occupation, as well.
He was 13 when the First Intifada, or Palestinian uprising against occupation, broke out in 1987 following the death of four Palestinians who were hit by an Israeli vehicle at the border between Israel and Gaza.
Violence erupted on the streets, and his life became a series of closures: curfews, checkpoints, chaos.
I never had the chance to live a normal teenager life, Ala says.
I used to love to play basketball myself.
We never had the chance to do that because we would come study for three hours in school and run home before they closed the checkpoints or before the demonstrations or clashes started.
He is hoping his sons have a better life and a chance to succeed, as they refuse to give up on their basketball dreams in the States.
The brothers have been fans of Irving since they were kids, when theyd wake up at 4 a.m.
to watch NBA games in their home in Ramallah.
His posts made them feel like they had an ally in the NBA.
My first basketball shoe was Kyries shoe, Ibrahim says.
Omar dreams of giving Irving his Palestinian National Team jersey one day.
Advertisement Ill be so happy, says Omar, who has heard rumors of Irving attending prayer at local mosques when in Minnesota to play the Timberwolves and has long tried to spot him but hasnt had luck yet.
It would be an honor.
They, too, want to unabashedly show their pride in Palestine as Irving does.
The brothers are also proud to be American.
They are American citizens, as was one of their great-grandfathers, who was naturalized.
Their father spent many years in America, as well.
I wanted them to have the best of both worlds, Ala says.
At the beginning of the month, Omar left home in Minnesota to represent the U18 Palestinian National Basketball Team at the West Asia Basketball Association (WABA) qualifiers.
Palestine lost a tough game to Iran, one of the top teams in the tournament, 97-87, but Omar shined.
He had 12 points, six rebounds, two blocks, two steals and two assists.
This is huge for Palestine basketball.
Weve never come close to Iran, ever, at that age group, says Saeed Al Naji, assistant coach for the U18 Palestinian team.
While the team missed out on qualifying for the U18 Asia Cup for the first time ever, Al Naji says the future is bright for Palestinian basketball.
There are more Palestinian players from the diaspora competing than ever.
Two years ago, we only managed to get two kids out of the U.S., one from Canada and one from Greece, Al Naji says.
This year ..
seven kids from the U.S., one from Canada and four kids coming directly from Palestine.
Were looking very, very tough.
We have a super talented pool of young players, probably eight players, capable of playing at the college level in the USA.
The majority of them are projected to play at NCAA D-I or D-II schools.
Omar and Ibrahim are a microcosm of that growth and of hope and opportunity for others to pursue playing at the next level.
I want to represent my country at the highest level possible, Ibrahim says.
Advertisement All the circumstances that weve been through, Omar says, we can still come up with something to be proud of.
Though Omar has the best shot at playing Division I, hes been inspired by his big brother.
When Ibrahim and his Gustavus teammates reached the D-III Sweet 16, Omar couldnt believe how far his brother had come.
The team had lost only two regular-season games and now was in March Madness, something theyd only seen on TV.
It was a surreal feeling, says Ibrahim, a face-up forward who is able to put the ball on the floor and score.
Hes been improving his shot and is looking to play more in his second season after spending his first as a reserve.
Omar is known for his scoring ability and mobility as a big man.
Hes got great footwork, says Todd Anderson, his high school coach at DeLaSalle.
Hes a college player, no question about it.
Omar has a deeper 3-point range.
Even as a big man, he hit clutch 3s in critical games for DeLaSalle at numerous points during last season.
Omar was always fearless, Al Naji says.
DeLaSalle has produced several NBA players, including Royce White, Tyrell Terry, Alan Anderson and Jamison Battle, a current member of the Toronto Raptors.
While the NBA seems like a far-fetched dream for the Ali brothers, they are determined to play for as long as they can and succeed at the collegiate level.
Both Ibrahim and Omar, having played soccer growing up, share a quickness on the floor.
Hardly anyone around them played basketball in Palestine back then, they say.
But when enough boys could play pick-up hoops to field a team, Ibrahim one day tried it and loved it.
Omar soon followed, and the two became gym rats, playing for Sareyyet Ramallah, also known as First Ramallah Group (FRG).
The boys would watch NBA highlights of LeBron James on YouTube.
Advertisement Their more immediate hero, however, was their neighbor: Sani Sakakini, widely recognized as Palestines first professional basketball player.
He played abroad in several countries, including China, Jordan, Taiwan and Lebanon.
He served as a mentor to Ibrahim and Omar, and the boys had his jersey hanging in their room growing up.
Sakakini even gave Ibrahim his Palestine national team jersey in 2020.
Growing up, Ibrahim would send Sakakini videos of his progress, such as his first dunk.
He would always encourage us to keep going, even though all odds are against us, Ibrahim says.
The brothers began to play within the Palestinian National Team system.
At the time, they were very raw, Al Naji says, but they caught on fast, soon knowing where to go, and when and why.
Theyve really made huge strides, Al Naji says.
I still think their potential is still not reached.
Playing in the summer in the West Bank was difficult, especially navigating the wider struggles.
One such obstacle was Israels water restrictions.
According to a 2023 report by BTselem, an Israeli human rights group, Israelis in 2020 consumed 10 times the amount of water as Palestinians in the West Bank although the Israeli population is only three times larger.
That meant showering quickly.
That also meant sometimes bringing a bucket to Sakakinis home and asking if they could have some water.
There would be two days a week where we have water, and we have to adjust to it, Omar says.
Basketball courts were hard to come by, and because games were often canceled by road restrictions and checkpoints, sometimes the boys only played five games a season.
They marvel now; in the U.S., five games can be played in one weekend tournament.
They remember often being on high alert as soldiers patrolled the area.
Advertisement You just have to live through it, Ibrahim says, fight through it with faith, believing that God has a plan for us.
The checkpoints interfered with every aspect of their lives.
Once, when Ala was driving a then-10-year-old Ibrahim home during Ramadan, it was time to break the fast, but the two were stopped by soldiers and not allowed to cross a bridge.
Our home is just over there, Ala pleaded with the soldiers, who grew agitated at his protest.
The soldiers ordered Ala to stand outside the car.
They pointed a gun at him.
Ibrahims entire perspective changed in a millisecond.
And even though the two were let go about 20 minutes later, the fear of what almost happened has stayed with him.
Their parents kept them positive as best they could, encouraging them to pursue their academic and athletic dreams.
Ala enrolled them in his alma mater, The Friends School in Ramallah, where the boys learned English.
The brothers had more privilege than most, given their American passports, and had their eyes set on the U.S.
for college, especially growing up hearing stories about their fathers and great-grandfathers travels in America, dating to the early 1900s.
Theyd listen to their father tell stories about how he would drive around the U.S.
selling jewelry.
Young Ibrahim couldnt get over it; one could travel the entire country and not get stopped? No checkpoints? You can get anywhere! he thought to himself in delight.
Ala was born in Ramallah, and his wife was born in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Ala moved to Deir Dibwan, a small village, when he was 6.
Thats also where Ibrahim and Omar were born and raised in the coming years before moving to Ramallah in 2018.
Deir Dibwan is a unique village in which many hold dual U.S.
citizenship.
Many keep American traditions, such as eating turkey on Thanksgiving.
Advertisement Ala moved to America for college, first attending a community college and then the University of Maryland.
He eventually moved back to Palestine to take care of his parents.
He remembers a tank casually parked in front of his parents home soon thereafter, as if it were the mailman.
He remembers how, shortly after opening a jewelry shop, soldiers shot tear gas inside the neighboring shop while customers shopped.
Ala had to replace the glass of his own store afterward.
It was shot by bullets, he says.
And yet, he and his sons continued to move forward as best they could.
They were buoyed by a deep sense of pride in their Palestinian culture.
The nearby farms that produced the freshest milk and cheese.
The stuffed grape leaves (Waraa-enab).
The olive trees outside their home, majestic and thriving not just a livelihood for many local farmers but a symbol of community.
Friends and family would eat meals under the familys trees, while children would laugh and play.
Ibrahim and Omar wish they could show people in Minnesota a snapshot of those moments under the trees, how beautiful Palestine is.
But they are then stopped cold by the reality on the ground.
A few days earlier, settlers burned many of the olive trees next to their home.
The brothers were devastated.
Settler violence increased to an all-time high in October 2025 with 264 attacks, about eight a day.
Olive tree harvests are often targeted; the violence has affected more communities and also more olive trees than in the past six years, according to an article in The New York Times that cited the report.
As they processed the news, the brothers realized: No matter how far they travel from home, a sense of loss lingers.
As a junior in high school, Ibrahim began sending highlight tapes of his game to college coaches in the U.S., setting in motion the brothers journey toward moving to the States.
They had extended family in Minnesota about 40 members so the choice was a no-brainer.
Al Naji, as well as friend Ben Maruggi, a local with many ties to hoops in the Middle East, was crucial in assisting the move, helping the boys find the right basketball opportunities.
Advertisement But when Ibrahim and Omar came to the States in August 2024, Ibrahim was detained in Chicago, the final stop before Minnesota.
He was taken into an interrogation room.
I dont know whats going on.
Its my first time in America, he says.
I was going through a bunch of emotions.
He was released about 30 minutes later.
The experience was jarring, but he soon settled into life in Minnesota, enjoying being around his family.
He and Omar could finally practice as long as they wanted to, in any gym they wanted to.
No road delays.
Theyve found Minnesotans to be friendly, too.
People like to help in every single way possible, Omar says.
The brothers are constantly in the gym, working on their jump shots.
Even though their schedules conflict sometimes, they still try to work out together as much as possible.
They often play one-on-one with a three-dribble limit to make the games more challenging.
Theyll play best of three.
We challenge each other, and we go at each other, Ibrahim says.
Iron sharpens iron.
Its a good bump for Omar to go at a college player, and its a good bump for me to play against someone bigger and more physical than me.
Sometimes when the brothers set off for the gym on the weekends, their father feels a familiar sensation: worry.
Worry about where they are going.
How long theyll be.
The past is never too far away.
But then he relaxes.
He trusts they will be OK.
He goes about his day.
He drives for a rideshare company, and as each passenger enters and leaves his car, he reflects on where his family has been, where it might go.
How far his sons might take this basketball dream.
This sport that he himself was pulled away from.
He is comforted by the strength of those who have come before.
The persistence of his people.
Palestinians, how do we survive? Ala says.
We love life.
We love life.
We have faith.
We have dignity.
We have pride in who we are.