Middle East Monitor / September 22, 2023
Israeli occupation forces yesterday broke into the Izzariyeh Elementary School for Girls, located to the east of Jerusalem, reported WAFA news agency.
According to Sireen Faroun, the school’s principal, both teachers and students were shocked at the extent of damage imposed during the raid. Israeli soldiers forcefully broke through doors, conducted searches within classrooms, and confiscated CCTV cameras.
Extensive property damage was left as a result.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education denounced the Israeli military’s destruction of school facilities, condemning it as a clear violation of human rights and the fundamental right of children to receive a safe learning environment.
The ministry emphasized that this incident underscores the challenging circumstances struggled by Palestinian students and teachers in occupied Jerusalem due to the ongoing war against educational institutions.
It also called on international, human rights and media institutions and organizations to assume their responsibilities in confronting the escalating violations of the Israeli occupation.
The Israeli harassment of Palestinian school children is common, as is the obstruction of students’ access to their schools and intimidation, including the deployment of a large number of troops in the surrounding area.
In May, Israeli soldiers stormed Al-Kurom Primary School and interrogated Palestinian students and teachers at gunpoint, threatening to shoot whoever tried to escape.
The incident came after ten European countries, including Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the UK, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland and the Office of the European Union Representative to the West Bank and Gaza, called on Israel to halt its policy of home demolitions and confiscation of Palestinian properties in the occupied West Bank.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and human rights abuses against Palestinians and breaches of international law are daily occurrences.
