Palestinian Foreign Ministry censures ‘settler terrorism’ after school attack in West Bank

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned an attack on a Bedouins school carried out by Israeli occupation forces and local settlers in the occupied West Bank.

In a statement released on Monday, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry called the attack an extension of the Israeli “crime of ethnic cleansing” against Palestinians, raising the alarm that the “settler’s terrorism” will lead to more assaults on Palestinians.

It added that such attacks reflect official Israeli policy supervised by “extremist ministers”, including hawkish minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Separately, the Palestinian Education Ministry denounced the attack, condemning the Israeli forces and settlers for disrupting education and terrorizing Palestinian children.

It called the attack a “recurring violation that reveals the ugly face of the Israeli occupation and its disregard for children's rights."

Palestinian WAFA news agency, citing local sources, reported that settlers escorted by the regime forces stormed the Arab al-Kaabneh Elementary School in the Arab al-Mleihat area northwest of Jericho early Monday.

Israeli forces arrested teachers as more settlers arrived at the scene. Students and staff were assaulted with crowbars.

Video footage shows people being taken away in handcuffs as settlers sit nearby. Another footage showed the settlers entering the school with bats and crowbars, as people could be heard screaming in fear. A man filming the attack was seen being hit on his back by a settler with a crowbar.

Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza has already systematically and deliberately targeted the education sector with the intention of displacement and marginalization.

Hamas slams Israel’s onslaught on education of Gaza students

The Palestinian Ministry of Education says nearly 80% of Gaza’s schools have been damaged or destroyed since October.

The Palestinian Ministry of Education recently reported that nearly 80 percent of Gaza’s schools have been damaged or destroyed. The last remaining university in the territory was demolished by Israeli forces in January. 

Israel has killed more than 10,000 students in Gaza and injured 15,000 since October. According to the ministry, 19,000 students have fled their residential areas.

At least 400 teachers have also been killed in Gaza, the ministry said, adding that 39,000 Gaza students were unable to take their high school exams, and 58,000 children were denied starting their first grade.

Inaccessible education aggravates Gaza tragedy

Gaza pupils trapped in a cycle of suffering due to the Israeli genocidal war, remain without educational facilities.

According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), four out of every five school buildings in Gaza have been directly hit or damaged.

This comes as the Israeli occupation forces have been conducting a series of military assaults in the northern West Bank for the past weeks,

Violence by Israeli forces and settlers has surged in the West Bank since the start of the Israeli genocidal campaign in Gaza in early October 2023.

Palestinians say such offensives are aimed at cementing Israel’s seemingly open-ended military rule over the occupied territory.

More than 700 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank alone since October 7.

Rights groups have warned of escalating violence in the West Bank and the use of harsh tactics by Israeli forces that the world has witnessed in the regime's war on Gaza.

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