GAZA, September 1, 2025 (WAFA) – Today on Monday approximately 46,000 Palestine refugee children began their new school year in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) across the West Bank, including 5,000 students who entered first grade for the first time.

UNRWA noted that thousands of children were deprived of their right to education due to the policies of the Israeli occupation. In East Jerusalem, the agency was unable to open its schools at the beginning of the school year for the first time in its history, after the occupation authorities forcibly closed six of its schools last May. This affected approximately 800 children, only a portion of whom were able to enroll in alternative schools.

Ten schools in the northern West Bank, in the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams refugee camps, remain closed as a result of Operation Iron Wall, preventing more than 4,000 children from returning to school. Instead, these children continue to learn remotely and self-study in temporary spaces.

UNRWA stressed that the past two years have witnessed unprecedented levels of educational disruption in the West Bank, with its schools subjected to repeated raids and vandalism, in addition to children's suffering from displacement and ongoing violence. Of the more than 30,000 displaced persons in the northern West Bank, children constitute more than a third.

UNRWA affirmed that safeguarding the right to education has become a top priority under these circumstances, reiterating its commitment to preserving the future of Palestine refugee boys and girls, as it has done throughout its more than 75 years of educational and service work.

The agency affirmied its hope that all children, including those in East Jerusalem, will be able to continue their education in a safe environment that preserves their dignity and gives them hope for a better future.

Y.S