19 feb 2020
In their efforts to prevent education in the Palestinian areas classified as C, Israeli forces today seized a caravan used as a school classroom in the village of Susiya, in Masafer Yatta cluster to the south of the occupied southern West Bank city of Hebron, according to a local source. video
Fouad al-Amoor, an activist, said that Israeli soldiers seized the classroom caravan under the pretext of construction without permit.
Israel never gives Palestinians permits to build in Area C of the occupied West Bank, which is under full Israeli military rule and make over 60 percent of the area of the West Bank.
Israeli forces recently issued an order to halt the construction of a playing ground in the same school.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education condemned the Israeli move and said in a statement that Israeli forces deliberately target Palestinian educational institutions aiming to prevent students from getting education in a safe and stable environment.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces seized today a residential caravan in Birin village in Masafer Yatta cluster also under the pretext it was placed at the site without a permit, according to Rateb Jabour, another local activist.
He said the caravan was donated as a charity to two elderly sisters, one 85 years of age and the second 65, to use as shelter and home.
Fouad al-Amoor, an activist, said that Israeli soldiers seized the classroom caravan under the pretext of construction without permit.
Israel never gives Palestinians permits to build in Area C of the occupied West Bank, which is under full Israeli military rule and make over 60 percent of the area of the West Bank.
Israeli forces recently issued an order to halt the construction of a playing ground in the same school.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education condemned the Israeli move and said in a statement that Israeli forces deliberately target Palestinian educational institutions aiming to prevent students from getting education in a safe and stable environment.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces seized today a residential caravan in Birin village in Masafer Yatta cluster also under the pretext it was placed at the site without a permit, according to Rateb Jabour, another local activist.
He said the caravan was donated as a charity to two elderly sisters, one 85 years of age and the second 65, to use as shelter and home.
15 feb 2020
A Palestinian child was injured and a number of Palestinian citizens were arrested by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in confrontations in Jerusalem and the West Bank on Saturday.
Local sources said that a child identified as Malek Essa 7 was injured after he was shot by the IOF with rubber-coated metal bullets in al-Isawiya village, northeast of Jerusalem City.
Essa, whose injury was described as "serious", was transferred to Hadassah Medical Center for treatment.
In al-Khalil, the IOF arrested four Palestinian youths in al-Arroub refugee camp and Dura town. The detainees are Mohammed Ewreidat, 25, Nader Banat, 20, Baraa Hadib, 15, and Ahmad Hadib, 14.
Meanwhile, violent clashes broke out in Nabi Saleh village, west of Ramallah City, between IOF soldiers and Palestinian youths.
The IOF fired tear gas canisters and rubber-coated metal bullets at the Palestinian youths who responded by throwing stones and empty bottles.
In the neighboring village of Deir Nizam, Palestinian residents marched at the entrance of the village and removed the metal gate and the cement blocks the IOF installed five days ago to obstruct their movement. video video
The residents later clashed with the IOF who attacked them with live ammunition and tear gas canisters. No injuries were reported.
Local sources said that a child identified as Malek Essa 7 was injured after he was shot by the IOF with rubber-coated metal bullets in al-Isawiya village, northeast of Jerusalem City.
Essa, whose injury was described as "serious", was transferred to Hadassah Medical Center for treatment.
In al-Khalil, the IOF arrested four Palestinian youths in al-Arroub refugee camp and Dura town. The detainees are Mohammed Ewreidat, 25, Nader Banat, 20, Baraa Hadib, 15, and Ahmad Hadib, 14.
Meanwhile, violent clashes broke out in Nabi Saleh village, west of Ramallah City, between IOF soldiers and Palestinian youths.
The IOF fired tear gas canisters and rubber-coated metal bullets at the Palestinian youths who responded by throwing stones and empty bottles.
In the neighboring village of Deir Nizam, Palestinian residents marched at the entrance of the village and removed the metal gate and the cement blocks the IOF installed five days ago to obstruct their movement. video video
The residents later clashed with the IOF who attacked them with live ammunition and tear gas canisters. No injuries were reported.
14 feb 2020
School transportation for children from 20 villages in Naqab (Negev) region ground to sudden halt after regional council blames Israeli Education Ministry for failing to transfer funds.
The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel filed an urgent court petition [pdf] Tuesday, 11 February 2020, as 2,200 preschool children from 20 Bedouin villages have been stuck at home for a month due to a budget dispute between the Israeli Education Ministry and a regional council in the country’s Naqab (Negev) region.
The petition, submitted by Adalah Attorney Aiah Haj Odeh on behalf of parents with affected children and the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages in the Naqab (RCUV), was filed in Be’er Sheva District Court against the Neve Midbar Regional Council and the Israeli Education Ministry. The petitioners demand Israeli authorities immediately resume the school bus service that was halted a month ago.
On 12 January 2020, the Neve Midbar Regional Council suddenly announced [pdf] that bussing for three and four-year-old preschool children from 20 villages (four recognized and 16 unrecognized villages) would be discontinued the following day because the Israeli Education Ministry had failed to transfer the necessary funds.
Despite Adalah’s repeated appeals to the Education Ministry and the Neve Midbar Regional Council, the school bus service has not yet been renewed.
In its series of letters to the authorities, Adalah stressed that failing to facilitate school bussing constitutes a serious and disproportionate violation of the right to education.
CLICK HERE to read Adalah’s letter from 14 January 2020 [Hebrew] [pdf]
The Education Ministry failed to respond to Adalah’s inquiries, and the Neve Midbar Regional Council reiterated [pdf] only that the bus service was halted due to the Education Ministry’s failure to transfer the necessary budget.
Despite a 1984 amendment to the Compulsory Education Law (1949) to provide free and mandatory education for children from age three –– and a 2012 directive that by 2016 this law must be implemented to include all children, a Knesset report [pdf] indicates that 4,718 Bedouin children between the ages of three and five did not attend preschools or kindergartens during the 2017-2018 academic year.
The school bussing program in the Neve Midbar Regional Council served as a solution for authorities to comply with the Compulsory Education Law, since most of the 20 villages in question have no schools at all. The school buses served preschool children studying at distances of up to 20 kilometers from their homes.
Adalah Attorney Aiah Haj Odeh commented on the urgent situation:
"In general, Israel fails to adequately address the educational needs of Bedouin children. Now it is failing to even fulfill its obligations under the Compulsory Education Law. It is difficult to imagine this situation but for the fact that these children are part of the Arab Bedouin community that Israeli authorities see as undeserving of state-mandated services. It is infuriating that these children are being cynically exploited in a dispute between state authorities. The law decrees that both the Education Ministry and the Neve Midbar Regional Council share responsibility for the transportation of school children, so we’ve petitioned against both parties to put an end to this scandal. "
CLICK HERE to read the urgent court petition [Hebrew pdf]
The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel filed an urgent court petition [pdf] Tuesday, 11 February 2020, as 2,200 preschool children from 20 Bedouin villages have been stuck at home for a month due to a budget dispute between the Israeli Education Ministry and a regional council in the country’s Naqab (Negev) region.
The petition, submitted by Adalah Attorney Aiah Haj Odeh on behalf of parents with affected children and the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages in the Naqab (RCUV), was filed in Be’er Sheva District Court against the Neve Midbar Regional Council and the Israeli Education Ministry. The petitioners demand Israeli authorities immediately resume the school bus service that was halted a month ago.
On 12 January 2020, the Neve Midbar Regional Council suddenly announced [pdf] that bussing for three and four-year-old preschool children from 20 villages (four recognized and 16 unrecognized villages) would be discontinued the following day because the Israeli Education Ministry had failed to transfer the necessary funds.
Despite Adalah’s repeated appeals to the Education Ministry and the Neve Midbar Regional Council, the school bus service has not yet been renewed.
In its series of letters to the authorities, Adalah stressed that failing to facilitate school bussing constitutes a serious and disproportionate violation of the right to education.
CLICK HERE to read Adalah’s letter from 14 January 2020 [Hebrew] [pdf]
The Education Ministry failed to respond to Adalah’s inquiries, and the Neve Midbar Regional Council reiterated [pdf] only that the bus service was halted due to the Education Ministry’s failure to transfer the necessary budget.
Despite a 1984 amendment to the Compulsory Education Law (1949) to provide free and mandatory education for children from age three –– and a 2012 directive that by 2016 this law must be implemented to include all children, a Knesset report [pdf] indicates that 4,718 Bedouin children between the ages of three and five did not attend preschools or kindergartens during the 2017-2018 academic year.
The school bussing program in the Neve Midbar Regional Council served as a solution for authorities to comply with the Compulsory Education Law, since most of the 20 villages in question have no schools at all. The school buses served preschool children studying at distances of up to 20 kilometers from their homes.
Adalah Attorney Aiah Haj Odeh commented on the urgent situation:
"In general, Israel fails to adequately address the educational needs of Bedouin children. Now it is failing to even fulfill its obligations under the Compulsory Education Law. It is difficult to imagine this situation but for the fact that these children are part of the Arab Bedouin community that Israeli authorities see as undeserving of state-mandated services. It is infuriating that these children are being cynically exploited in a dispute between state authorities. The law decrees that both the Education Ministry and the Neve Midbar Regional Council share responsibility for the transportation of school children, so we’ve petitioned against both parties to put an end to this scandal. "
CLICK HERE to read the urgent court petition [Hebrew pdf]
10 feb 2020
Israeli soldiers today attacked with teargas canisters Palestinian students and teachers in the schools’ area in the town of Abu Dis, east of occupied Jerusalem, causing many to suffer from suffocation, according to Hani Halabiya, a local activist.
He told WAFA that Israeli soldiers fired teargas grenades towards the schools’ complex, causing several suffocation cases among students and teachers.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said its staff treated at the location 13 suffocation casualties, while one had to be taken to hospital.
The area in which schools as well as Al-Quds University are located witnesses constant interaction with Israeli soldiers, who often provoke the students and deliberately make pursuing education in that town very difficult.
He told WAFA that Israeli soldiers fired teargas grenades towards the schools’ complex, causing several suffocation cases among students and teachers.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said its staff treated at the location 13 suffocation casualties, while one had to be taken to hospital.
The area in which schools as well as Al-Quds University are located witnesses constant interaction with Israeli soldiers, who often provoke the students and deliberately make pursuing education in that town very difficult.
8 feb 2020
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) at dawn Saturday stormed Kafr Ni'ma town, west of Ramallah in the West Bank, provoking clashes with local young men.
According to eyewitnesses, the IOF spread through the town’s streets, encircled the industrial school before raiding it and confiscated security camera recordings from stores and homes.
Local youths confronted the soldiers and their vehicles by throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at them.
The IOF stormed the town as part of its manhunt campaign to look for the Palestinian who shot and injured on Friday an Israeli soldier near the illegal settlement of Dolev, northwest of Ramallah.
The IOF also shut down in the morning the barrier on the Enab road in the west of Deir Ibzi village and blocked movement of citizens and vehicles for some time.
According to eyewitnesses, the IOF spread through the town’s streets, encircled the industrial school before raiding it and confiscated security camera recordings from stores and homes.
Local youths confronted the soldiers and their vehicles by throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at them.
The IOF stormed the town as part of its manhunt campaign to look for the Palestinian who shot and injured on Friday an Israeli soldier near the illegal settlement of Dolev, northwest of Ramallah.
The IOF also shut down in the morning the barrier on the Enab road in the west of Deir Ibzi village and blocked movement of citizens and vehicles for some time.
6 feb 2020
The Israel occupation authorities, on Wednesday, ordered a halt to the rehabilitation of a school playground in the village of Susiya, southern occupied West Bank, as well as demolition orders for a structure in Sebastia village, northern West Bank.
Abdul Aziz Abu Finnar, from the Yatta municipality, said Israeli forces handed Susiya School principal a notice ordering him to stop work on the rehabilitation of the school’s playground, the Palestinian News and Info Agency (WAFA) reported.
The mayor of Sebastia, Mohammad Azim, stated that the Israeli army notified a Palestinian resident, Nael Abu Aqel, of Sebastia of its intention to demolish his structure, and ordered Malik Makhalfeh to remove his tent from the archaeological area of the village.
Abdul Aziz Abu Finnar, from the Yatta municipality, said Israeli forces handed Susiya School principal a notice ordering him to stop work on the rehabilitation of the school’s playground, the Palestinian News and Info Agency (WAFA) reported.
The mayor of Sebastia, Mohammad Azim, stated that the Israeli army notified a Palestinian resident, Nael Abu Aqel, of Sebastia of its intention to demolish his structure, and ordered Malik Makhalfeh to remove his tent from the archaeological area of the village.
5 feb 2020
Israeli soldiers attacked, Wednesday, many Palestinian schoolchildren in Teqoua’ town, east of Bethlehem, south of occupied Jerusalem in the West Bank.
Media source said the soldiers fired many gas bombs and concussion grenades at the student while heading to school.
Taiseer Abu Mfarreh, a teacher of Teqoua’ Secondary School, said the attack caused anxiety attacks among the children.
Media source said the soldiers fired many gas bombs and concussion grenades at the student while heading to school.
Taiseer Abu Mfarreh, a teacher of Teqoua’ Secondary School, said the attack caused anxiety attacks among the children.
4 feb 2020
Israeli forces held this morning two Palestinian teachers as they were heading to their school in Taqu town, southeast of Bethlehem, according to Morad Abu Muffareh, a teacher at the school.
He said Israeli soldiers held the two teachers for a while and threatened to storm the school under false pretenses.
Abu Muffareh said that on Sunday Israeli forces briefly detained a number of students from the same school and took their fingerprints.
Soldiers are regularly seen in the school vicinity, often provoking the students and teachers.
He said Israeli soldiers held the two teachers for a while and threatened to storm the school under false pretenses.
Abu Muffareh said that on Sunday Israeli forces briefly detained a number of students from the same school and took their fingerprints.
Soldiers are regularly seen in the school vicinity, often provoking the students and teachers.