Palestine: education hit by flagrant Israeli violations, says rights group

Education in Palestine has been subject to flagrant Israeli violations, Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights said yesterday in a report marking the UN International Day of Education.

The right to education in the occupied Palestinian territories “has been systematically violated by the Israeli occupation,” noted Al-Mezan, with a negative impact on the Palestinians and their life.

According to the rights group, the Israeli army has killed 1,383 Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip alone since 2008. It has partially or completely demolished 571 educational facilities, including 538 schools in the same period, during which the occupation authorities detained 143 male and female students.

Schools in Jerusalem, said Al-Mezan, are facing punitive measures imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities simply because they refuse to use Israeli textbooks. The group also pointed to the daily suffering of Palestinian students who must pass through Israeli military checkpoints on their way to school.

In Gaza, meanwhile, the situation is very difficult due to the ongoing Israeli siege which has been enforced since 2006. “A number of schools have to work two shifts in order to absorb the student numbers.”

Al-Mezan reiterated the right of the Palestinians to enjoy education in safety, without violations and restrictions. It called for the international community to put pressure on the Israeli occupation to remove all obstacles imposed on Palestinian students and the education system.

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