8 May 2023
22/2023
ICHR condemns demolition of the Challenge Mixed Basic School by the Israeli occupying forces
The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) strongly condemns demolition of the Challenge Mixed Basic School by the Israeli occupying forces in the Jib adh-Dhib Bedouin community in Beit Ta’mir, east of the Bethlehem governorate. The demolition was carried out at dawn on Sunday, 7 May 2023. Under the international law, the demolition is illegal as it violates children’s right to education, depriving 60 pupils from grades 1 through 4 of this right. While obstructing education in Palestine, the demolition demonstrates Israel’s targeting of the education process, students, teaching staff, and educational institutions,
The Challenge 5 Basic School was demolished after the Israeli court had refused, over months, petitions to cancel the demolition, claiming that the school posed a risk to pupils’ safety. Funded by the European Union (EU), the makeshift school had already been demolished after it was constructed in 2017, ostensibly for lacking a building permit. Having been rebuilt later, school was eventually destroyed yesterday.
Since 2016, the Israeli occupying authorities have demolished 11 (challenge) schools, all located in Area C. The majority of these schools served Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities. Demolitions are part of Israel’s stated policy of displacing Palestinians from Jerusalem and Area C either directly or by creating a coercive environment to force them out of their land. Another 15 challenge schools are at risk of demolition at any time, including one in the Bedouin community of Al-Khan al-Ahmar and another in Ein Samiya northeast of Ramallah.
The ICHR stresses that the right to education is enshrined in international charters and conventions. It is guaranteed by Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, Articles 28-30 of the Convention on the Child, Article 10 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Article 5 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and 1960 UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education, which ensures the right to education generally.
According to the International Humanitarian Law, the occupying Power is under legal obligations to safeguard enjoyment of the right to education in the occupying Palestinian territory (oPt). Against this background, the ICHR calls on:
- The international community and High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to bear their legal and moral responsibilities and place pressure on the Israeli occupying authorities to cease practices against the education sector. As the occupying Power, Israel will shoulder its responsibilities for respecting and protecting Palestinian students’ right to education.
- The EU to take effective action under Article 3 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which requires that the occupying Power respect human rights, including the right to education.
- International human rights organisations and media institutions to bear their responsibilities towards Israel’s escalating violations, raise Israeli abuses in various forums, and provide protection and advocacy for educational institution across the oPt.
End
