RAMALLAH, February 5, 2018 (WAFA) - Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah condemned on Monday “in the strongest possible terms” the Israeli army demolition of two classrooms in the Bedouin community of Abu Nuwar, east of Jerusalem.

"Besides the fact that such a demolition contravenes international humanitarian law, this latest attack is directed against Palestinian schoolchildren, and is simply immoral,” Hamdallah said in a statement. “The right to education is universal and enshrined in several treaties, such as the Conventions of the Right of the Child, of which Israel is a signatory."

The Abu Nuwar school was built with public European funds in October 2017.

Located in the so-called "Area C" of the West Bank, the community of Abu Nuwar has been prevented by the Israeli authorities from undertaking any construction, including roads that would allow a school bus to access the community and safely bring the children to and from school.

"Denying Palestinian children their right to education, not to mention other fundamental rights, is a deliberate policy of the Israeli authorities to pressure Palestinian communities to leave, in order to confiscate their land and build additional settlements," warned the prime minister.

"Under international law, Palestinians living under military occupation have the status of ‘protected persons‘ which prohibit the occupying power from undertaking actions that violate their inherent rights. The Israeli plans to ‘relocate‘ several Palestinian communities amount to forced transfer, which is defined as a war crime under the Rome Statute," concluded Hamdallah.

M.K.