Israeli Settlers Block West Bank School Road, Forces Tear Gas Palestinian Children
Key Takeaways
- Settlers blocked the Umm al-Khair road to the school with barbed wire.
- Israeli forces fired tear gas at Palestinian schoolchildren during a sit-in.
- First day of class after the settlers blocked access to the school.
Settlers Block School Access
Israeli settlers erected a barbed wire fence blocking the main road to the local school in Umm al-Khair.
Palestinian students held classes outdoors and staged sit-in protests.
Israeli forces responded by firing tear gas at the children.
Twelve-year-old Sarah al-Hathaleen said, We were sitting and they threw a grenade at us.
The fence was erected by settlers from the nearby Carmel settlement.
The head of the village council said the alternative routes are very dangerous.
Surge in Settler Violence
The fence was part of a broader surge in settler violence across the West Bank.
The Palestinian Committee for Resistance recorded 497 settler attacks in March.
Eleven-year-old Mahmoud Al-Zaben was sprayed with pepper spray by a passing settler.
His father said, If they kill me, I won’t leave my home.
The International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation illegal in July 2024.
Children's Right to Education
The closure of the school road raised alarm about deprivation of children's right to education.
“In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces fired tear gas at Palestinian schoolchildren who were staging a sit-in protest Monday after settlers blocked access to their school in the village of Umm al-Khair in the Masafer Yatta region”
Palestinian activist Tareq al-Hazzalin said this was part of a systematic practice.
Around 55 students were prevented from reaching Umm al-Khair School.
Footage showed children screaming and fleeing.
The villagers' plight was documented in the 2024 Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land.
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