GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Twelve students of mechanical engineering at An-Najah National University in Nablus, the West Bank, have built the first Palestinian racing car from recycled materials to compete at the Silverstone racetrack in the United Kingdom, as part of the annual Formula Student competition.

The only Palestinian team taking part in the competition will be competing against some 130 rivals from countries around the world in July.

The Formula Student Competition kicked off in 1998 in the United Kingdom and is organized by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in collaboration with the world’s largest automakers, where mechanical engineering graduates from all over the world compete at the highest level in design, manufacturing and mechanics.

The team is lead by Amira Tamam, who was a volunteer at the 2017 Formula Student competition and promised to return with her own team in 2018. Other members of the team are Karam Ghanem, Najeh Tabila, Hussam Habayeb, Mohammad Amer, Zayd Omri, Mahmoud Ghanem, Mutaz Katit, Ahmed Abu Jazar, Ahmad Behlok, Mohammad Abu Jazar and Mohammed Nassasira, who have worked hard to meet all the international standards to develop a racing car.