31 jan 2019
Three Palestinian students were injured with Israeli live ammunition, on Thursday, in the Tuqu village, southeast of the southern occupied West Bank district of Bethlehem.
According to local sources, Israeli forces stormed the Tuqu village and surrounded a local high school, leading to clashes among Israeli forces and Palestinian students.
Sources said Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear-gas bombs at the students to disperse them. Three students were shot with live ammunition, while dozens of others suffered from tear-gas inhalation.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) confirmed that its medical crews transferred three Palestinians, who suffered injuries in their abdomen, pelvis, and leg, to a nearby hospital.
PRCS also confirmed that two of the three students are in critical condition.
Many Palestinians schools and universities have been subjected to numerous Israeli military raids in the past.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory confirmed that since the beginning of 2018 there has been a significant increase in incidents involving the entry of Israeli forces and settlers into Palestinian schools.
In OCHA’s biweekly Protection of Civilians Report covering the period from 6th to 19th of November 2018, it said that in the West Bank, 63 Palestinian children and nine adults were injured by Israeli forces during four separate raids into schools, one of which also involved Israeli settlers.
According to local sources, Israeli forces stormed the Tuqu village and surrounded a local high school, leading to clashes among Israeli forces and Palestinian students.
Sources said Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear-gas bombs at the students to disperse them. Three students were shot with live ammunition, while dozens of others suffered from tear-gas inhalation.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) confirmed that its medical crews transferred three Palestinians, who suffered injuries in their abdomen, pelvis, and leg, to a nearby hospital.
PRCS also confirmed that two of the three students are in critical condition.
Many Palestinians schools and universities have been subjected to numerous Israeli military raids in the past.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory confirmed that since the beginning of 2018 there has been a significant increase in incidents involving the entry of Israeli forces and settlers into Palestinian schools.
In OCHA’s biweekly Protection of Civilians Report covering the period from 6th to 19th of November 2018, it said that in the West Bank, 63 Palestinian children and nine adults were injured by Israeli forces during four separate raids into schools, one of which also involved Israeli settlers.
United Nations officials, Wednesday, expressed deep concern over the rise in ongoing Israeli interference in Palestinian education.
“As the second school term resumes in the State of Palestine, we remain deeply concerned by the high number of reported incidents of interference in or near schools in the West Bank since the beginning of the school year,” said the Humanitarian Coordinator, Jamie McGoldrick, UNICEF Special Representative, Genevieve Boutin, and UNESCO in a joint statement.
“These incidents are impacting children’s safe access to education. Incidents of interference in schools by Israeli Forces, demolitions, threats of demolition, clashes on the way to school between students and security forces, teachers stopped at checkpoints, and the violent actions of Israeli forces and settlers on some occasions, are impacting access to a safe learning environment and the right to quality education for thousands of Palestinian children,” they said, according to WAFA.
“From January to December 2018, the UN documented 111 interferences to education in the West Bank affecting 19,196 children, an average of more than two violations every week. More than half of the verified incidents involved live ammunition, tear gas, and stun grenades fired into or near schools by Israeli Forces, impacting the delivery of education or injuring students. Nearly two-thirds of all verified interference incidents in West Bank schools took place in the last four months of 2018.”
The UN officials added, “Currently, some 50 schools in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem, are under threat of demolition. In 2018, five schools in the West Bank were demolished or seized by Israeli authorities, including Izbiq Community School north of Nablus, Al Semeye School south of Hebron, and the Abu Nuwar and Jabel Baba schools in East Jerusalem.
Also, since mid-October 2018, the Sawiya al Luban school south of Nablus was closed for a day, and the Khan al-Ahmar village school, east of Jerusalem, remains under threat of demolition, along with the rest of the village.
Orief secondary school for boys near Nablus has also been forced closed twice due to settler violence, and children from this school have been hospitalized with multiple injuries, including from gunshots. In the H2 area of Hebron, tear gas is regularly used around schools, and new measures are being applied at checkpoints that expose students and teachers to violence – at one particularly affected H2 school, more than 20 such incidents were documented in 2018.”
Moreover, they said, “during military escalations from 11 to 13 November, schools in Gaza and in southern Israel were closed for at least one day, including four schools in Gaza that received minor damage, and one learning support centre and one kindergarten that both severely damaged.”
The UN officials said “schools should be respected as places of learning, safety and stability. The classroom should be a sanctuary from conflict, where children can learn and develop into active citizens.
“Children should never be the target of violence and must not be exposed to any form of violence.”
“As the second school term resumes in the State of Palestine, we remain deeply concerned by the high number of reported incidents of interference in or near schools in the West Bank since the beginning of the school year,” said the Humanitarian Coordinator, Jamie McGoldrick, UNICEF Special Representative, Genevieve Boutin, and UNESCO in a joint statement.
“These incidents are impacting children’s safe access to education. Incidents of interference in schools by Israeli Forces, demolitions, threats of demolition, clashes on the way to school between students and security forces, teachers stopped at checkpoints, and the violent actions of Israeli forces and settlers on some occasions, are impacting access to a safe learning environment and the right to quality education for thousands of Palestinian children,” they said, according to WAFA.
“From January to December 2018, the UN documented 111 interferences to education in the West Bank affecting 19,196 children, an average of more than two violations every week. More than half of the verified incidents involved live ammunition, tear gas, and stun grenades fired into or near schools by Israeli Forces, impacting the delivery of education or injuring students. Nearly two-thirds of all verified interference incidents in West Bank schools took place in the last four months of 2018.”
The UN officials added, “Currently, some 50 schools in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem, are under threat of demolition. In 2018, five schools in the West Bank were demolished or seized by Israeli authorities, including Izbiq Community School north of Nablus, Al Semeye School south of Hebron, and the Abu Nuwar and Jabel Baba schools in East Jerusalem.
Also, since mid-October 2018, the Sawiya al Luban school south of Nablus was closed for a day, and the Khan al-Ahmar village school, east of Jerusalem, remains under threat of demolition, along with the rest of the village.
Orief secondary school for boys near Nablus has also been forced closed twice due to settler violence, and children from this school have been hospitalized with multiple injuries, including from gunshots. In the H2 area of Hebron, tear gas is regularly used around schools, and new measures are being applied at checkpoints that expose students and teachers to violence – at one particularly affected H2 school, more than 20 such incidents were documented in 2018.”
Moreover, they said, “during military escalations from 11 to 13 November, schools in Gaza and in southern Israel were closed for at least one day, including four schools in Gaza that received minor damage, and one learning support centre and one kindergarten that both severely damaged.”
The UN officials said “schools should be respected as places of learning, safety and stability. The classroom should be a sanctuary from conflict, where children can learn and develop into active citizens.
“Children should never be the target of violence and must not be exposed to any form of violence.”
30 jan 2019
Israeli authorities delivered demolition notices and halt of construction orders to several homes and schools in Masafer Yatta in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron, on Wednesday.
Coordinator of a local popular committee against the separation wall and settlements, Rateb al-Jbour, said Israeli authorities stormed the Masafer Yatta area and delivered halt of construction orders to several homes belonging to al-Dababseh family.
Al-Jbour also said that Israeli authorities delivered a demolition notice to a local mixed elementary school that had been previously demolished about four months ago by Israeli forces, however, was rebuilt in the meantime.
Israeli authorities seek to displace Masafer Yatta residents, in order to seize their lands, as part of an Israeli settlement expansion plan in the West Bank.
Around 3,000 Israeli settlers live in illegal Jewish-only settlements in the Yatta region, according to the Applied Research Institute Jerusalem.
The South Hebron Hills, known locally as Masafer Yatta, lie almost entirely in Area C, the 62 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli civil and security control since the 1993 Oslo Accords.
Masafer Yatta residents were expelled at the time of the establishment of a firing zone in the 1970s and were eventually allowed back following a long court battle, but are under the constant threat of being expelled or seeing their homes demolished.
Coordinator of a local popular committee against the separation wall and settlements, Rateb al-Jbour, said Israeli authorities stormed the Masafer Yatta area and delivered halt of construction orders to several homes belonging to al-Dababseh family.
Al-Jbour also said that Israeli authorities delivered a demolition notice to a local mixed elementary school that had been previously demolished about four months ago by Israeli forces, however, was rebuilt in the meantime.
Israeli authorities seek to displace Masafer Yatta residents, in order to seize their lands, as part of an Israeli settlement expansion plan in the West Bank.
Around 3,000 Israeli settlers live in illegal Jewish-only settlements in the Yatta region, according to the Applied Research Institute Jerusalem.
The South Hebron Hills, known locally as Masafer Yatta, lie almost entirely in Area C, the 62 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli civil and security control since the 1993 Oslo Accords.
Masafer Yatta residents were expelled at the time of the establishment of a firing zone in the 1970s and were eventually allowed back following a long court battle, but are under the constant threat of being expelled or seeing their homes demolished.
28 jan 2019
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on Monday opened fire on a school in the blockaded Gaza strip, injuring a Palestinian, according to local sources.
"The Mahdia Shawa School today came under fire which wounded employee Ramez Za'anin", the Ministry of Education in Gaza said.
Ministry official Ziad Thabet condemned the shooting, which, he said, was part of an ongoing Israeli policy to target Palestinian educational institutions.
The attack came in flagrant violation to international las and norms, he added.
He also called on international community to condemn the incident and to hold Israel accountable for its escalated crimes against the Gaza Strip.
Israel has stepped up attacks in Gaza, which claimed over 295 Palestinian lives in 2018, marking the highest death toll since the 2014 Gaza conflict, many of them were shot during the March of Return protests, amid a deterioration in the humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave.
"The Mahdia Shawa School today came under fire which wounded employee Ramez Za'anin", the Ministry of Education in Gaza said.
Ministry official Ziad Thabet condemned the shooting, which, he said, was part of an ongoing Israeli policy to target Palestinian educational institutions.
The attack came in flagrant violation to international las and norms, he added.
He also called on international community to condemn the incident and to hold Israel accountable for its escalated crimes against the Gaza Strip.
Israel has stepped up attacks in Gaza, which claimed over 295 Palestinian lives in 2018, marking the highest death toll since the 2014 Gaza conflict, many of them were shot during the March of Return protests, amid a deterioration in the humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave.
23 jan 2019
Israeli soldiers injured, Wednesday, several schoolchildren in the al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem, after the army fired gas bombs into their school.
Bassam Jabr, the Administrative Director of the Education Department in Bethlehem, said the soldiers invaded the Old City of al-Khader, and surrounded the schools in that area, located near the colonialist road #60.
He added that many students suffered the effects of teargas inhalation and received the needed treatment.
The soldiers threatened to invade the school and abduct students for “hurling stones at the army.”
The school had to shut down for the day, and the students were sent back to their homes in fear of further invasions.
Bassam Jabr, the Administrative Director of the Education Department in Bethlehem, said the soldiers invaded the Old City of al-Khader, and surrounded the schools in that area, located near the colonialist road #60.
He added that many students suffered the effects of teargas inhalation and received the needed treatment.
The soldiers threatened to invade the school and abduct students for “hurling stones at the army.”
The school had to shut down for the day, and the students were sent back to their homes in fear of further invasions.
20 jan 2019
The Israeli occupation authorities are reportedly set to revoke permits for Palestinian schools in occupied Jerusalem run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
The move would come as the latest strike against the UN Relief and Works Agency, which has seen its budget slashed by the US and its activities in occupied Jerusalem increasingly curtailed by Israel.
Israel’s National Security Council decided to revoke permits allowing UNRWA schools in the occupied city to operate, starting next school year, Israel’s Hadashot TV news reported Saturday.
According to the report, the UNRWA schools will be replaced by schools run by Israel’s Jerusalem municipality and under the aegis of the Israeli Education Ministry.
The network said the decision was reached during a National Security Council meeting last month to discuss expelling UNRWA from occupied Jerusalem following US President Donald Trump’s decision to end American funding for the agency.
Israel claims occupied East Jerusalem as part of its undivided capital, in a move largely unrecognized internationally, and has sought in recent months to push the UN Palestinian refugee agency out of the city.
Prior to the end of his tenure last month, Jerusalem mayor Nir Bakat detailed a proposal to expel UNRWA from occupied Jerusalem and have the Israeli municipality control education, health, welfare, and sanitation services in its place.
Barakat also gave details of a plan prepared by a team of city officials and experts to replace all of UNRWA’s functions with municipal services in the Shuafat refugee camp, founded in 1965 and home to some 20,000 Palestinian refugees.
The plan comes after the Trump administration announced it was cutting nearly $300 million in planned funding for UNRWA, and said that it would no longer back the agency after decades of support. Washington has also cut other aid to the Palestinians in a bid to pressure the Palestinian Authority into negotiations with the Israeli occupation.
Barkat proposed to expropriate or lease the existing UNRWA schools to use as municipal buildings, and in addition will construct an educational and municipal services complex.
In case such proposed Israeli measures will be put into effect, some 1,200 Palestinian students enrolled at three UNRWA schools in Shu’fat refugee camp and 150 children enrolled at a UNRWA school in Wadi al-Jouz, along with some 500 children and teens registered at schools run by the agency in Silwan and Sur Baher will be prevented from accessing UNRWA schools to pursue their studies.
The move would come as the latest strike against the UN Relief and Works Agency, which has seen its budget slashed by the US and its activities in occupied Jerusalem increasingly curtailed by Israel.
Israel’s National Security Council decided to revoke permits allowing UNRWA schools in the occupied city to operate, starting next school year, Israel’s Hadashot TV news reported Saturday.
According to the report, the UNRWA schools will be replaced by schools run by Israel’s Jerusalem municipality and under the aegis of the Israeli Education Ministry.
The network said the decision was reached during a National Security Council meeting last month to discuss expelling UNRWA from occupied Jerusalem following US President Donald Trump’s decision to end American funding for the agency.
Israel claims occupied East Jerusalem as part of its undivided capital, in a move largely unrecognized internationally, and has sought in recent months to push the UN Palestinian refugee agency out of the city.
Prior to the end of his tenure last month, Jerusalem mayor Nir Bakat detailed a proposal to expel UNRWA from occupied Jerusalem and have the Israeli municipality control education, health, welfare, and sanitation services in its place.
Barakat also gave details of a plan prepared by a team of city officials and experts to replace all of UNRWA’s functions with municipal services in the Shuafat refugee camp, founded in 1965 and home to some 20,000 Palestinian refugees.
The plan comes after the Trump administration announced it was cutting nearly $300 million in planned funding for UNRWA, and said that it would no longer back the agency after decades of support. Washington has also cut other aid to the Palestinians in a bid to pressure the Palestinian Authority into negotiations with the Israeli occupation.
Barkat proposed to expropriate or lease the existing UNRWA schools to use as municipal buildings, and in addition will construct an educational and municipal services complex.
In case such proposed Israeli measures will be put into effect, some 1,200 Palestinian students enrolled at three UNRWA schools in Shu’fat refugee camp and 150 children enrolled at a UNRWA school in Wadi al-Jouz, along with some 500 children and teens registered at schools run by the agency in Silwan and Sur Baher will be prevented from accessing UNRWA schools to pursue their studies.
12 jan 2019
The Moroccan ministry of national education has categorically denied there is an official school textbook containing a map that shows Israel instead of Palestine.
In a statement, the ministry said it saw pictures of the alleged book circulated on social media, but it affirmed that an approved schoolbook would never contain a map without Palestine.
The alleged schoolbook also contained false information about Palestine, claiming that the Islamic holy sites and the Aqsa Mosque belonged to Israel.
The Moroccan government has long supported the Palestinian cause. Moroccans on social media found it surprising that a Moroccan schoolbook would contain a map without Palestine.
The Moroccan Anti-Normalization Observer shared a post about the book on its official Facebook page, warning of the gravity of “normalizing” the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The center called for the government to open an investigation about the book.
In a statement, the ministry said it saw pictures of the alleged book circulated on social media, but it affirmed that an approved schoolbook would never contain a map without Palestine.
The alleged schoolbook also contained false information about Palestine, claiming that the Islamic holy sites and the Aqsa Mosque belonged to Israel.
The Moroccan government has long supported the Palestinian cause. Moroccans on social media found it surprising that a Moroccan schoolbook would contain a map without Palestine.
The Moroccan Anti-Normalization Observer shared a post about the book on its official Facebook page, warning of the gravity of “normalizing” the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The center called for the government to open an investigation about the book.
6 jan 2019
One-third of all students in Israel take the higher education eligibility exam in Arabic; Adalah: Ministry must live up to its name and narrow gaps rather than widen them.
Israel’s Ministry for Social Equality is discriminating against Palestinian Arab high school students, citizens of Israel, by offering a free online psychometric examination preparatory course in Hebrew only.
The online course, offered starting in January 2019 to students preparing for the April 2019 psychometric higher education eligibility exam, is administered by Campus, the national platform for online students’ courses led by the ministry’s “Digital Israel” project.
According to Ministry for Social Equality data, about 70,000 potential higher education students take the psychometric exams every year, most of who undergo preparatory courses at a total cost of NIS 300 million (almost US $80 million) annually.
However, the ministry’s online course is offered only in Hebrew, thereby discriminating against students who take the exam in Arabic. Approximately one-third of all students in Israel take the psychometric examination in Arabic and this figure has been steadily increasing over the past decade.
On 17 December 2018, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel sent a letter to Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel demanding that she take immediate action to offer a psychometric prep course also in Arabic in advance of the April 2019 exam.
There is a significant gap between average test scores in Arabic and in Hebrew. In 2017, the average Hebrew-language score was 580 while the average Arabic-language score was 488.
Adalah stressed in the letter that offering the course only in Hebrew will cause serious harm to Arab students, will perpetuate existing education gaps, and will make it more difficult for Arab students to integrate into academia and, later, into the workforce.
Offering a free preparatory course only in Hebrew constitutes discrimination on the basis of nationality, and violates the state’s duty to act with equality between all citizens when allocating state resources.
Indeed, former Israeli Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak, in the case of The High Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens in Israel v. Prime Minister of Israel (HCJ 11163/03), stated: “Public resources, especially resources directed at correcting socio-economic distortion, should be allocated in an egalitarian and just manner, considering the purpose for which they are allocated and the different needs of the members of society in receiving the resources.” Adalah Attorney Nareman Shehadeh-Zoabi prepared and sent the letter to Minister Gamliel.
Attorney Nareman Shehadeh-Zoabi commented further on the case:
“If the Ministry for Social Equality is interested in fulfilling the role defined by its name, it must make an active effort to narrow the gaps between students rather than to deepen them. The score in the psychometric tests is relative, and therefore granting assistance to examinees only in Hebrew exacerbates the already existing discrimination stemming from the absence of equal opportunities for students who studied in Arab high schools.”
CLICK HERE to read Adalah’s letter [Hebrew pdf]
(Screengrab: Psychometric Online/YouTube)
Israel’s Ministry for Social Equality is discriminating against Palestinian Arab high school students, citizens of Israel, by offering a free online psychometric examination preparatory course in Hebrew only.
The online course, offered starting in January 2019 to students preparing for the April 2019 psychometric higher education eligibility exam, is administered by Campus, the national platform for online students’ courses led by the ministry’s “Digital Israel” project.
According to Ministry for Social Equality data, about 70,000 potential higher education students take the psychometric exams every year, most of who undergo preparatory courses at a total cost of NIS 300 million (almost US $80 million) annually.
However, the ministry’s online course is offered only in Hebrew, thereby discriminating against students who take the exam in Arabic. Approximately one-third of all students in Israel take the psychometric examination in Arabic and this figure has been steadily increasing over the past decade.
On 17 December 2018, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel sent a letter to Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel demanding that she take immediate action to offer a psychometric prep course also in Arabic in advance of the April 2019 exam.
There is a significant gap between average test scores in Arabic and in Hebrew. In 2017, the average Hebrew-language score was 580 while the average Arabic-language score was 488.
Adalah stressed in the letter that offering the course only in Hebrew will cause serious harm to Arab students, will perpetuate existing education gaps, and will make it more difficult for Arab students to integrate into academia and, later, into the workforce.
Offering a free preparatory course only in Hebrew constitutes discrimination on the basis of nationality, and violates the state’s duty to act with equality between all citizens when allocating state resources.
Indeed, former Israeli Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak, in the case of The High Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens in Israel v. Prime Minister of Israel (HCJ 11163/03), stated: “Public resources, especially resources directed at correcting socio-economic distortion, should be allocated in an egalitarian and just manner, considering the purpose for which they are allocated and the different needs of the members of society in receiving the resources.” Adalah Attorney Nareman Shehadeh-Zoabi prepared and sent the letter to Minister Gamliel.
Attorney Nareman Shehadeh-Zoabi commented further on the case:
“If the Ministry for Social Equality is interested in fulfilling the role defined by its name, it must make an active effort to narrow the gaps between students rather than to deepen them. The score in the psychometric tests is relative, and therefore granting assistance to examinees only in Hebrew exacerbates the already existing discrimination stemming from the absence of equal opportunities for students who studied in Arab high schools.”
CLICK HERE to read Adalah’s letter [Hebrew pdf]
(Screengrab: Psychometric Online/YouTube)
3 jan 2019
Israeli soldier opened live fire and tear-gas bombs targeting Palestinian students who were leaving their school in the northern occupied West Bank village of Tell in Nablus, on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Palestinian security sources said Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles passing by the main Nablus-Qalqilya road near the illegal Israeli settlement of Yitzhar.
Israeli forces reportedly opened live fire at students of the Tell High School, showering them with tear-gas bombs as they left their school.
No injuries were reported.
Ghassan Daghlas, an official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, said that Israeli settlers threw rocks at Palestinian vehicles near the Yitzhar settlement, causing damages.
Israeli settlers blocked the road near Yitzhar.
Palestinian towns and villages in the Nablus area are surrounded by Israeli settlements and outposts, many of which are protected by the Israeli military and have gained notoriety for being comprised of the most extremist settlers.
Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law, with recent announcements of settlement expansion provoking condemnation from the international community.
Meanwhile, Palestinian security sources said Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles passing by the main Nablus-Qalqilya road near the illegal Israeli settlement of Yitzhar.
Israeli forces reportedly opened live fire at students of the Tell High School, showering them with tear-gas bombs as they left their school.
No injuries were reported.
Ghassan Daghlas, an official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, said that Israeli settlers threw rocks at Palestinian vehicles near the Yitzhar settlement, causing damages.
Israeli settlers blocked the road near Yitzhar.
Palestinian towns and villages in the Nablus area are surrounded by Israeli settlements and outposts, many of which are protected by the Israeli military and have gained notoriety for being comprised of the most extremist settlers.
Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law, with recent announcements of settlement expansion provoking condemnation from the international community.
2 jan 2019
Dozens of schoolchildren choked on teargas on Wednesday during confrontations with the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in Bethlehem.
Activist Sabri Jebril said that dozens of students suffered breathing difficulties as a result of inhaling teargas after the IOF attacked Tuqu' high school.
According to Jebril, the IOF further blocked the northern entrance to Tuqu' town and threatened to close the school.
Activist Sabri Jebril said that dozens of students suffered breathing difficulties as a result of inhaling teargas after the IOF attacked Tuqu' high school.
According to Jebril, the IOF further blocked the northern entrance to Tuqu' town and threatened to close the school.
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