RAMALLAH, Tuesday, September 27, 2022 (WAFA) - The Representative of the European Union to Palestine, Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff, visited today the EU-funded Ras al-Teen elementary school to the east of Ramallah which is facing the imminent threat of demolition by the Israeli authorities.

The EU representative said during the visit, which came on the occasion of the International Day of Peace under the slogan “ending discrimination and building peace”, that the aim of this visit is to show solidarity with the students and residents of the Bedouin communities to the east of Ramallah and to protect the Palestinian presence in areas threatened with seizure through the building of schools, infrastructure, and the provision of water.

He stressed that this visit expresses the EU’s clear position on the right of students to education in all areas, stating that supporting the right to education is an essential part of the EU’s work.

The spokesman for the Ministry of Education in Ramallah, Sadiq al-Khaddour, who took part in the visit, stressed the importance of showing what the Palestinian schools in Bedouin communities and areas threatened with confiscation are subjected to and the challenges facing children, students, and teachers in accessing these schools.

The school principal, Nora al-Azhari, urged the EU to assist in the school’s infrastructure development and provide for its needs as provided for other schools.

The EU representative participated in the planting of forest trees around the school as means of supporting the steadfastness of students and teachers there.

The school, which provides education to around 46 students living in nearby Bedouin communities, was built with EU funds in 2020 and received during the same year a demolition notice from the Israeli authorities under the pretext it is located in area C of the West Bank. The school is frequently subjected to raids and harassment by Israeli settlers and army forces.

T.R.