According to Palestinian sources, Israeli authorities on Sunday destroyed a school financed with EU funds in a village near Bethlehem. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli soldiers, accompanied by bulldozers, entered the southern West Bank village early in the morning. This led to confrontations with residents.
The responsible Israeli Cogat authority stated that the building had been erected without the necessary permits. Because of the danger of collapse, a court ordered the destruction.
The Al-Tahadi school was said to have been destroyed in 2017 and then rebuilt. In March, an Israeli court granted the request of a right-wing Israeli organization and ordered the demolition to be repeated. Bassam Jabr, who is responsible for education in the Bethlehem area, said Wafa that around 60 students from the 1st to 4th grade studied at the school.
Israel should stop all demolitions and evictions that only increase the suffering of the Palestinian people.
EU Representation of the Palestinian Territories
The EU representation in the Palestinian Territories expressed “appalled” at the destruction. Such building demolitions are illegal under international law, “and children’s right to education must be respected,” it said in a tweet. “Israel should stop all demolitions and evictions that only increase the suffering of the Palestinian people.” They continued to escalate the already tense situation.
Israel repeatedly demolishes Palestinian homes and buildings in the West Bank and East Jerusalem if they were built without Israeli permission. Homes belonging to relatives of Palestinian assassins are also being demolished. Israel calls this deterrence. Human rights activists criticize this practice as collective punishment.
Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. The Palestinians are demanding the areas for their own state – with East Jerusalem as the capital. (dpa)
