Palestinian students in the occupied West Bank were forced to hold classes outdoors after illegal Israeli settlers blocked the main road to school with a fence and barbed wire, Anadolu reports.
Residents of Umm al-Khair village in the Masafer Yatta area in southern West Bank said the route was closed early in the morning, preventing around 55 students from reaching school.
Villagers staged a sit-in protest demanding the road be reopened, but Israeli forces intervened and used tear gas, affecting children in the area, according to local sources.
Palestinian activist and teacher Tareq al-Hazzalin said “usurping settlers” had closed the road used by students to reach school.
“We informed the police, but no action was taken,” he said.
He added that the incident was not just a road closure, but part of a systematic practice restricting children’s right to education.
Hazzalin said around 300 people live in the village and that 55 students have been deprived of access to education, stressing that the pressures also negatively affect daily life.
A sixth-grade student, Sara, said they had returned to school after a 40-day break due to regional tensions, only to find the road closed again.
“We staged a sit-in when the road was blocked, but the Israeli army fired tear gas at us. We had to sit and and continue our lessons in the street,” she said.
“We want to learn and live like other children around the world,” she added.
Residents say ongoing Israeli restrictions and attacks have disrupted daily life, including access to basic services.
Palestinian officials report an increase in settler-related incidents across the West Bank in recent months, raising concerns over the impact on civilians, particularly children’s access to education.
Since the start of the Gaza genocide in October 2023, attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers in the West Bank have killed at least 1,133 Palestinians, wounded about 11,700 others and led to nearly 22,000 arrests, according to Palestinian figures.
In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
