After more than 24 days of continuous airstrikes on residential apartments, schools, and hospitals that resulted in the killing of Palestinian men and women, boys and girls and elderly, the Ministry of Education today called for an immediate moratorium on Israel’s continuous attempts to constrict Palestinian fundamental rights and freedoms. ‘The Israeli military operations with their barbaric attacks have harmed, killed, and maimed Palestinian students, education personnel, schools, and even universities. According to preliminary figures, heavy bombardment and shells killed 2,000 students, 3,500 children, and 100 school teachers. In addition to destroying and damaging more than 200 schools. The figures are expected to rise as the aggression carries on, and searches continue among the rubble,’ said the Ministry in a statement. ‘Consequently, more than 600,000 students are not and will not be able to go to school and pursue their basic right to education. Not only that, but these students will suffer from long-lasting anxieties and stress, affecting their emotional state and well-being in the long term.’ Right to Education violations continue to rise in the West Bank as well. The Ministry of Education has documented the killing of 13 students since October 7; and the arrest of dozens, while preventing hundreds of students and teachers from freely accessing educational institutions, due to checkpoints, roadblocks, ongoing closures to cities and villages, and the threat of settler attacks, which all has resulted in severe restrictions on movement. The Israeli occupation and settlers stormed schools and damaged their properties in areas located in Ras al-Tine, Wadi al Siq, Burqa, and al-Ka’abneh Bedouin communities. ‘These attacks on the right to education are part of the ongoing systematic assault on Palestinian schools and education institutions since their establishment. The UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, and the International Court of Justice all affirm Israel’s obligation to exercise its responsibility as the occupying power in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in accordance with international humanitarian law. Israel is obliged to protect and facilitate the functioning and sanctity of schools and entities of learning,’ said the Education Ministry. ‘This moment is dangerous for the future of Palestinian children and youth, but it is also a moment to join together for justice and freedom,’ it said, urging and calling on governments, institutions, and academics to pressure Israel and insist that attacks against schools, children, and students must cease immediately. The ministry also requested the international community to hold Israel accountable for their destructive measures and clear systematic violations of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949), the right to education in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966).
Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA
