Israel demolishes Palestinian school in West Bank

By Qais Abu Samra

HEBRON CITY, Palestine (AA) – The Israeli army on Wednesday demolished a Palestinian school in the occupied West Bank, according to a local official.

Fouad al-Amour, the coordinator of the so-called Protection and Resilience Committee in the southern West Bank, said the structure was razed in the town of Msafer Yatta, south of Hebron, citing lack of a building permit.

According to al-Amour, the school provides education to Palestinian Bedouin communities in Msafer Yatta town.

The Palestinian Education Ministry decried the demolition as a “brazen violation of the Palestinian students’ right to safe and free education.”

Israel widely uses the pretext of lack of construction permits to demolish Palestinian homes and buildings, especially in Area C in the occupied West Bank, which constitutes around 60% of its space.

Under the 1995 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was divided into three portions – Area A, B, and C.

Area C is under Israel’s administrative and security control until a final status agreement is reached with the Palestinians.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar