JERICHO, September 4, 2011 (WAFA) – More than one million Palestinian students Sunday started the new school year across the West Bank and Gaza.
Schools in Arab Bedouin communities in Area C in the West Bank, which is controlled by Israel, fight to remain open to children’s return to school, noted United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Gough explained that children of Kaabneh, Bedouin site near Jericho, live in makeshift encampments in the middle of a desert landscape: the village was never linked to the main road, forcing children and teachers to walk long distances under the heat to reach the school, which is a mere handful of containers which are sometimes shared between several classes due to lack of space; sanitation facilities are run-down.
“The school and the encampments have received demolition orders, putting the Bedouins at risk of forced displacement. Even the trees planted by the children to create shade might be uprooted,” added Gough.
In Khan al Ahmar site, Bedouin children have to cross the busy Jerusalem-Jericho highway on foot to attend classes every day with no traffic light has been installed to help them cross safely, she added.
The statement said that since the restrictive permit regime applied in Area C prevents most Palestinians from obtaining a building permit, the school was built out of old tires and dried mud in an attempt to prevent demolition.
“However, neighboring settlers have petitioned Israeli authorities to have the eco-friendly school closed and demolished. The Bedouins have now exhausted all legal avenues to protect their homes and the school from demolition, putting children at risk of school dropout and forced displacement any day,” added Gough.
She indicated that 80% of public schools in Gaza and 90% of UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) schools work double shifts in the morning and evening due to lack of classrooms, saying that the Strip needs new 130 public schools and 100 UNRWA schools to dispose the two-shift system.
UNICEF was not able to build 500 new classrooms because of the Israeli severe restrictions on importing construction material through border crossings, which forces students in Gaza to study in cramped school rooms, cut the class time by third and dispend classroom activities, she added.
R.Q./M.A.
