By Fayha Shalash – Ramallah

The distance between the family home and the school is 800 meters, but they are forced to take a bumpy dirt road to reach their destination.

Mahmoud Hamadna is forced to walk with his children along a dirt road to reach their school in the town of Ya’bad, south of Jenin.

The daily journey of Palestinian students to school has become fraught with danger due to the increasing closure of main roads and streets between Palestinian cities, villages, and towns, as well as the erection of military checkpoints and iron gates at their entrances.

The presence of armed illegal Jewish settlers and the expansion of settlements heighten the dangers of the trip for school students who try to find alternative routes to avoid assaults and attacks from settlers.

‘No Place is Safe’

Hamadna accompanies his children from their home in Mariha village, near Ya’bad, to their school every day.

The distance between the family home and the school is 800 meters, but they are forced to take a bumpy dirt road to reach their destination.

The Israeli army has closed all entrances to the village with an iron gate and dirt barriers to restrict the movement of residents, forcing many to walk on foot to fulfill their needs.

“I wish, as a father, like all other fathers in the world, I could drive my children to school and pick them up in my car, but these are just dreams for us, as vehicles are useless in a village surrounded by dirt mounds,” Hamadna told the Palestine Chronicle.

To make things worse, illegal settlers deliberately remain on that dirt road to attack Palestinian students while they head and return from school.

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“Once, my daughter called us crying from school because she tried to take the road, but when she saw a group of settlers throwing stones at the children, she got terrified and returned to school,” Hamadna explained.

The danger facing school students in this village and others is significant, as they could easily become targets of gunfire from armed illegal settlers with the support of the Israeli occupation army.

Last September, settlers attacked several female students on this dirt road, and when some tried to hide between the olive trees, Israeli soldiers detained them for hours amidst their non-stop crying.

The families of the students attempted to secure a minibus for their children to transport them without fear; however, the Israeli occupation army declined their request.

“There is no safe place here. Soldiers and settlers surround us from every angle and their main goal is to get rid of us,” Hamadna said.

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Attacks on Schools

Not only are Palestinian students subjected to attacks by illegal Jewish settlers but their schools are as well.

The assaults on students and their schools are part of a comprehensive plan by illegal settlers and the Israeli government to expel the Palestinians and confine them into cramped gatherings.

On Monday, November 4, several groups of settlers attacked Burqa, east of Ramallah, and besieged the main school in the village.

Muhammad Sumrain, a journalist from Burqa, told the Palestine Chronicle that a state of terror reigned among the students due to the heavy presence of armed illegal settlers at the school entrance.

Endless appeals emanated from parents during the school day, begging to allow their children to leave safely to avoid potential attacks by the illegal settlers who were present, with the cover of the Israeli occupation army.

This is just one incident among many, since some schools in specific areas of occupied Palestine are more vulnerable to attacks by illegal Jewish settlers.

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The schools of Bedouin communities in the Palestinian Jordan Valley area are particularly susceptible to these violent attacks.

The Arab Al-Kaabneh School, northwest of Jericho, was attacked over a month ago by illegal settlers targeting students and their teachers, with the risk of repeated daily attacks.

Hassan Mlihat, director of the Al-Baidar Foundation for Bedouin Defense, told the Palestine Chronicle that assaults on schools in Palestinian Bedouin communities have become an integral part of illegal settler attacks.

According to Mlihat, their goal is not merely to carry out the attacks or cause injuries, but rather to instill terror and dissuade students and teachers alike from attending school. This would eventually lead to the dismantling of the school and abandonment of the land, making it easier for illegal settlers to control it.

“When the Al-Kaabneh School was attacked (on September 17 – PC), students and teachers were beaten, and the school principal, along with some of the teachers, were tied with wires, while students screamed and cried for hours in fear,” Mlihat said.

When the Israeli occupation forces arrived at the school, instead of holding the settlers accountable for their actions, they arrested the principal and teachers and warned them not to assault the illegal settlers or confront them.

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The attacks by illegal settlers on Bedouin tin-built schools have been familiar and ongoing for years.

Illegal Jewish settlers smash fragile windows with stones, vandalize property, and cut off water and electricity, in addition to targeting students and teachers and inflicting physical harm on them.

“The steadfastness of the Palestinians in these areas has become a major challenge in the face of these ferocious settler attacks. Schools are supposed to be among the safest places, but here they are the most exposed to danger,” Mlihat concluded

Following the attack on the Al-Kaabneh School, the Education Cluster and the West Bank Protection Consortium (WBPC) issued a joint statement describing the incident as another red line being crossed in the increasingly aggressive violence by Israeli settlers.

The groups called on the international community to ensure the protection of Palestinians, including schoolchildren and their teachers, from settler violence, and to hold those responsible for these crimes accountable.

The two organizations noted that Israel, as the occupying power, is obliged to protect school students and facilitate the continuation of their education.

“The International Community must emphasize not just in words, but in policy, the protection of children’s rights and adherence to international laws and conventions including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” the statement read.

The statement also stressed that the level of diplomatic pressure must reflect the critical situation of Palestinian children, who face extremely high protection risks and threats to their education. 

“The international community should demand immediate actions from the Government of Israel to address the key barriers that are preventing continuous and safe access to education in the West Bank,” it continued.

(The Palestine Chronicle)