'Israel' to demolish yet another school in Palestine
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Six Palestinian families in Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah, and the Old City of Al-Quds face the threat of immediate forcible expulsion and/or decisive hearings on eviction cases started by Israeli settler groups.
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Palestinian children attend an improvised class in the village of Abu Nuwar, occupied West Bank, after the Israeli occupation demolished their two-classroom school. (AP)
Trade unions in the UK and Ireland representing education workers in schools, colleges, and universities expressed their shock and dismay at "Israel's" decision to demolish yet another school in Palestine, in the occupied West Bank.
The unions further highlighted, in a letter signed by 7 union members and officials, that "Israel" is violating the Optional Protocol to the Rights of the Child in Armed Conflict on 14 November 2001, ratified on 18 July 2005.
Several articles of international law are being violated as schools are being demolished.
The unions also urged "Israel" to halt the demolition of Jubbet ad Dib, along with other planned demolitions of schools in Palestine, specifically in the occupied West Bank.
"This is a situation that we are profoundly concerned about, that we understand to be completely beyond the law, and that we call upon the Israeli authorities to bring to an immediate end," they mentioned in their letter.
"Such violations of Palestinian rights and international law are inextricably linked to the occupation of the Palestinian territories, which Israel must bring to an end," they concluded.
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A Palestinian school's sad story
The school is in the Palestinian Jubbet ad Dhib neighborhood, southeast of Beit Lahm. The donor-funded school opened in 2017 and already serves over 40 pupils (15 males and 25 girls) in grades 1-4. The school was built to serve the community's youngsters, who had to walk considerable distances and cross a major road to get to the nearest school, and it is established on private property provided by the community.
The school was razed by the Israeli military the day before the start of the 2017/18 school year in August 2017.
In September 2017, about 100 volunteers reconstructed the school overnight, and classes resumed the next day. The freshly reconstructed school was called 'Challenge 5 School,' as it was the Ministry's fifth school built in areas threatened by Israeli settlement expansion projects. These schools are located in so-called Area C, which remains under complete Israeli control.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israeli restrictions in Area C have made obtaining building permits "nearly impossible" for Palestinians. As a result of Israeli repressive actions, more than a third of Palestinian villages in Area C do not have access to primary education.
It is worth noting that the occupied West Bank was divided into three administrative sections under the 1993 "Oslo Accords", with so-called Area A managed by the Palestinian Authority, so-called Area B under alleged shared sovereignty, and so-called Area C – the largest area, accounting for around 60% of the territory – under complete military Israeli control.
According to the accords, Area C, the only contiguous portion of the occupied West Bank with the most fertile land and valuable natural resources, was meant to be gradually transferred to Palestinian sovereignty, but this has not occurred.
Instead, Area C is now occupied by 400,000 illegal settlers, who control 70% of the area and prohibit Palestinian development.
In February 2021, the school received a Building Permit, and an agreement was struck between the Israeli occupation and the petitioners, under which the petitioners presented a new detailed plan for the school in March 2021, but the plan was rejected.
Furthermore, the Israeli Central Court denied the Palestinians' petition against the destruction on March 6, and the so-called "Civil Administration" was given 60 days by the Court to demolish the school.
More forcible expulsions
Concurrently, six Palestinian families in Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah, and the Old City of Al-Quds face immediate forcible eviction and/or decisive hearings on eviction cases started by Israeli settler groups, putting more than 80 people at risk of expulsions.
Would you destroy your own home if forced to?
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 17, 2022
Recently, #Palestinians are being forced to demolish their own homes with their own hands, the same houses they have been living in long before the Israeli occupation. #Palestine #SaveShiekhJarrah #SaveNaqab pic.twitter.com/vpDTGa8pBl
Delegates from Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have urged Israeli authorities to reverse their arbitrary plans.
The aforementioned delegates restated their strong opposition to "Israel's" unlawful settlement policy and actions taken in this context, including expulsions.
