EU, France condemn Israeli demolition of EU-funded school in West Bank
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EU and France condemn "Israel" for demolishing an EU-funded Palestinian school in Aqqaba, West Bank, sparking protests and Palestinian outrage.
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A Palestinian youth carries clothes as he walks over the rubble of a house demolished by the Israeli army in the West Bank village of Beit Sira, near Ramallah, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025 (AP)
The European Union issued a statement on Tuesday expressing its “strong displeasure” over the demolition of a school under construction in the village of Aqqaba, north of the occupied West Bank. The school, co-financed by the EU and France, was intended to serve hundreds of Palestinian students.
In its statement, the EU stressed that it expects "Israel" to protect its investments that support the Palestinian people from harm and destruction, per international law.
France also denounced the demolition, directly holding Israeli authorities responsible for the act. Paris said it strongly opposed such measures, which undermine Palestinian rights and educational access.
According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, the demolished school was supposed to consist of two floors covering 704 square meters, built on land spanning five dunams. Israeli occupation forces demolished the building on August 5, before it could be completed.
The demolition sparked a strong reaction from Palestinians. The Committee for Factional Coordination and the Commission for Resistance to the Wall and Settlements organized a protest, joined by local organizations in Tubas as well as school students, to denounce the act and reaffirm the right to education.
Smotrich's E1 settlement plan
As Western states prepare to recognize the State of Palestine in September, the Israeli government is pursuing plans to further the occupation of the West Bank, rendering any possibility of the formation of a Palestinian state impossible.
"Israel's" Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has officially advanced the controversial E1 settlement project, a long-stalled construction plan that threatens to permanently alter the geographic and political landscape of the occupied West Bank.
The plan includes over 3,400 settlement units connecting the illegal settlement of "Ma'ale Adumim" to occupied al-Quds, effectively severing the West Bank into two, and blocking any possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state.
E1, or "East 1," is a 12-square-kilometer area between occupied al-Quds and the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. For years, international opposition kept the project frozen, due to its grave implications for Palestinian statehood and violations of international law. The International Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that all settlement activities in the West Bank and East al-Quds violate the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on the E1 settlement plan, which aims to separate Jerusalem from its Arab surroundings. pic.twitter.com/piujXvfHBa
— Jerusalem Governorate محافظة القدس الشريف (@jerusalemgov) August 14, 2025
Smotrich did not conceal the motive behind the plan, declaring, "This will bury the idea of a Palestinian state," calling it the "final nail in the coffin" of any idea of a Palestinian State. He emphasized that the plan was developed in full coordination with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with support from the US.
Smotrich's announcement to begin the construction of E1 settlements sparked outrage in occupied Palestine and beyond.
Read more: Sa’ar pushes to shut French consulate over Palestine statehood plan
