

The Country Director for Action Against Hunger, Gonzalo Codina, said: “The existing Palestinian schools are overstretched, and the Israeli authorities are not issuing the required building permits for Palestinian communities like the one at Al Muntar. Now that a donor-funded school is again at risk of being demolished, we have to ask: Where can these children study safely?”

Across the West Bank, countless threats have been documented for Palestinian children in simply trying to reach school and enjoy their basic right to education. In 2016, there were 256 education-related violations affecting 29,230 students across the Occupied Palestinian Territory2. These threats include: threats of violence and harassment from Israeli settlers or soldiers on the journey to school, military activity in or around their schools, military or police arresting and detaining children from their classrooms, lost time due to the closure of a military area or firing zone, delays crossing checkpoints, threats of destruction and demolition of schools and stop work orders.

Save the Children’s Country Director Jennifer Moorehead said: “Children’s fundamental right to education is under growing threat. The school in Al Muntar, a very remote and vulnerable community, has enabled children and especially girls to attend school for the first time. Now children as young as five face having their future demolished before their eyes. These safe spaces for children must be protected not destroyed. Globally we see more and more governments signing up to the Safe Schools Declaration, yet Palestinian schools are facing ever greater threats. We urgently call on the international community to increase diplomatic pressure on the Israeli government to protect Palestinian children’s right to education and to prevent the demolition and seizure of school infrastructure.”

The agencies said such demolitions are in violation of International Humanitarian Law3 and children’s basic right to education, and directly undermine the international community’s provision of aid to the occupied Palestinian population, to ensure safe places for children to learn.