Rights group calls for international community to step in after Palestinian school demolished
A leading Israeli human rights group has said children have been denied their right to education after Israel demolished an EU-funded school in the occupied West Bank on Sunday.
Speaking to The National, B’Tselem spokeswoman Dror Sadot said dozens of children in the village of Jubbet Adh Dhib, near Bethlehem, will now losing out on schooling.
Ms Sadot called on the international community to intervene, saying this was the “only way Israel will stop violating human rights”.
The school was deemed hazardous by a court in March.
Its demolition led to protests on Sunday when Palestinians hurled rocks at Israeli troops, who fired tear gas in response.
Classrooms were emptied of contents before the demolition.
Co-ordination of Government Activities in the Territories, the Israeli Defence Ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the occupied territories, gave a two-month deadline in March to vacate the premises – after an order by a Jerusalem court.
The EU condemned the demolition, with its external affairs spokesman Peter Stano saying Israel’s actions would affect 81 children and that “demolitions are illegal under international law”, on Twitter on Sunday.
The tweet was shared by representatives from European countries – including Germany and the Netherlands – in Ramallah, in the West Bank.
The Palestinian Education Ministry said the move was a “heinous crime” that fits a wider pattern of damaging the “Palestinian educational sector, targeting students, teachers and educational institutions”. Regavim, an Israeli organisation that describes itself as “a social movement established to promote a Zionist agenda for Israel and to protect its resources”, praised the demolition.
On Sunday it said that “it’s amazing how so many people fall prey to the Palestinian propaganda machine”.
“It is the [Palestinian Authority] that is cynically using children to advance their political ploy,” said Regavim.
Ms Sadot said the move by Israeli authorities was part of what her organisation views as a wider campaign “to basically expel dozens of communities from Area C”.
Area C, which covers 60 per cent of the region, is under the control of Israeli authorities.
“[Israel does] this by a lot of means,” Ms Sadot said.
“One is demolitions – whether it’s homes, public buildings or water infrastructure.
“Even if it’s not a foreign-funded school, we are seeing such actions every day.”
Construction is a long-standing source of contention in the West Bank. Israel rarely grants construction permits to Palestinians. This has led to a proliferation of illegal buildings – which Israel often demolishes.
The EU and member states are the largest donors to Palestinians. Its diplomatic service said “last year saw 954 structures demolished or seized by occupation authorities throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem – the highest number recorded since 2016”.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It is home to almost three million Palestinians. About 475,000 Jewish settlers live there in state-approved settlements considered illegal under international law.