Ireland Demands Israel Repay Costs After Settlers Demolish Hamamat Al-Maleh School in Tubas

Ireland is demanding that Israeli authorities repay the cost of a school demolished by settlers in the occupied West Bank, with the Irish government tying the demand to the destruction of the Hamamat al-Maleh school in the Jordan Valley.

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Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera reports that Ireland will demand Israeli authorities repay the cost of a school demolished by settlers in the occupied West Bank, describing the Irish Aid-backed facility as serving around 60 children.

Al Jazeera

Türkiye Today says the Hamamat al-Maleh school served approximately 60 children from surrounding herding communities and was demolished along with most other structures in the small Bedouin settlement on Tuesday evening, citing the West Bank Protection Consortium (WBPC).

Türkiye Today adds that the school was co-funded and refurbished with support from Ireland and 11 EU member states, listing Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden, alongside Canada, the United Kingdom, and the EU's humanitarian agency DG ECHO.

The Türkiye Today account places the school in Area C of the West Bank, a designation established under the 1993 Oslo Accords that covers roughly 60 percent of the territory and places it under full Israeli civil and security control.

In a separate report, شبكة مصدر الاخبارية says Ireland urged Israel to compensate the cost of demolishing the Malih School in Tubas, which housed 70 children, and which was funded by the European Union and the Irish Aid Agency in Hammamat al-Malih.

That same report says the demolition occurred on Tuesday evening when the Israeli army raided the Bedouin village of Hammamat al-Malih in the Jordan Valley and systematically dismantled most of the buildings, including the school.

Ireland’s demand is framed as a reimbursement effort tied to donor-funded infrastructure, with the Irish government saying it will formally seek full reimbursement from Israeli authorities.

Türkiye Today reports that Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs said it "will formally demand full reimbursement from the Israeli authorities for the destruction of the EU- and donor-funded school and associated structures."

Türkiye Today

The same report says the Irish Aid-backed facility was among structures destroyed in a Bedouin community, and it describes the school as co-funded and refurbished with support from Ireland and 11 EU member states, alongside Canada, the United Kingdom, and DG ECHO.

Türkiye Today also says the department noted a significant increase in violent settler activity in the area in recent days, and it links the demolition to reported harassment and attacks on the school over months.

In that account, activists say settlers vandalized the building in March, stealing equipment, smashing solar panels, damaging security cameras and destroying water infrastructure, and it adds that repeated settler intimidation had already forced the school to suspend operations earlier this year before its physical destruction.

Türkiye Today further situates the dispute in the governance structure of Area C, stating that building permits there are extremely difficult for Palestinians to obtain, a reality rights groups say has long been used to justify demolitions of Palestinian-built or donor-funded structures.

شبكة مصدر الاخبارية says Irish officials in Dublin are preparing official documents to recover all costs tied to the destroyed infrastructure, describing the school as funded through the Irish development programme (Irish Aid) alongside multiple international donors.

The demolition is described alongside forced displacement in the Bedouin community, with Türkiye Today citing UN OCHA figures about remaining households and the broader scale of displacement in 2026.

“Ireland today, Sunday, April 26, 2026, urged Israel to compensate the cost of demolishing the Malih School in Tubas, which housed 70 children, and which was funded by the European Union and the Irish Aid Agency in Hammamat al-Malih”

Shabakat Masdar al-Akhbariyah

Türkiye Today says that according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the last three remaining Palestinian households in the community, comprising 15 people including six children, were fully displaced as a result.

It adds that OCHA noted Hamamat al-Maleh is one of six communities in Tubas governorate that have been fully displaced since 2023, and that more than 2,500 Palestinians across the West Bank have been displaced by demolitions, settler attacks, and evictions so far in 2026, more than 1,100 of them children.

Türkiye Today also describes the demolition as the culmination of months of reported harassment and attacks on the school, and it says activists say settlers vandalized the building in March and damaged infrastructure including solar panels, security cameras and water infrastructure.

The report further states that the Tubas district director of education said repeated settler intimidation of students and staff had already forced the school to suspend operations earlier this year before its physical destruction.

Türkiye Today also notes that the current demand follows an earlier, unresolved claim, saying that in February Ireland and its WBPC partners formally sought 1.7 million euros, roughly $1.99 million, in compensation from Israeli authorities for humanitarian assets destroyed or seized since 2015, and that no payment has been received.

شبكة مصدر الاخبارية adds that the minister expressed deep dismay at the destruction of homes and vital civilian infrastructure in a community that was already suffering forced displacement.

Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee is quoted condemning the demolition in the strongest terms, and her statements are echoed across the reporting.

Türkiye Today says McEntee called the destruction of the school "not only unacceptable, it is indefensible," adding that she was "appalled and deeply angered" by the reported demolition of homes and critical civilian infrastructure.

Al Jazeera

The same report says McEntee framed Israel's actions as representing "a grave violation of international humanitarian law and an assault on basic human dignity," and it adds that she said "That this community had already been forcibly displaced makes these actions all the more egregious."

Al Jazeera similarly reports that Ireland will demand Israeli authorities repay the cost of the school demolished by settlers in the occupied West Bank, describing the Irish Aid-backed facility and the Bedouin community where it was destroyed.

شبكة مصدر الاخبارية states that Foreign Minister Helen McEntee condemned the destruction of the EU-funded school and the Irish Aid–assisted facility in Hammamat al-Malih, describing it as a grave violation of international humanitarian law and an assault on human dignity.

That report also says the minister described the military operation as morally indefensible and illegal, stressing that targeting civilian educational infrastructure constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

Türkiye Today adds that the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs noted an increase in violent settler activity in the area in recent days, and it attributes the demolition to Israeli settlers bulldozing the facility serving a Bedouin community in the Jordan Valley earlier this week.

The reporting diverges on how the demolition is characterized—whether it is attributed to settlers or to an Israeli army raid—and on the number of children the school housed.

“Ireland and more than a dozen international partners are pressing Israel to pay for the destruction of a jointly funded school in the occupied West Bank, after Israeli settlers bulldozed the facility serving a Bedouin community in the Jordan Valley earlier this week, Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said Friday”

Türkiye Today

Al Jazeera frames the event as a school demolished by settlers, saying Ireland will demand Israeli authorities repay the cost of a school that was demolished by settlers in the occupied West Bank and describing the Irish Aid-backed facility as serving around 60 children.

Türkiye Today

Türkiye Today also describes the school as demolished by Israeli settlers, stating that Ireland and more than a dozen international partners are pressing Israel to pay for the destruction of a jointly funded school after Israeli settlers bulldozed the facility serving a Bedouin community in the Jordan Valley earlier this week.

In contrast, شبكة مصدر الاخبارية says the demolition occurred when the Israeli army raided the Bedouin village of Hammamat al-Malih in the Jordan Valley and systematically dismantled most of the buildings, including the school.

The sources also differ on the school’s child population: Al Jazeera says around 60 children, Türkiye Today says approximately 60 children, while شبكة مصدر الاخبارية says the Malih School in Tubas housed 70 children.

The accounts also differ in how they describe the demand’s timeline and framing, with Türkiye Today saying McEntee spoke Friday and that Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs would formally demand full reimbursement, while شبكة مصدر الاخبارية dates the call to Sunday, April 26, 2026.

Despite these differences, all three accounts converge on the central point that Ireland is seeking compensation tied to EU- and Irish Aid-funded education infrastructure.