Israeli police stationed at the Lions’ Gate entrance to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem prevented textbooks from being delivered to Palestinian schools located inside the walled holy site on Tuesday, a day before the first day of school.
Ahad Sabri, head of one of the schools awaiting the textbooks, the Al-Aqsa Sharia School for Girls, told Ma’an that the Israeli police prevented the books from entering on the grounds that they were printed with the logo of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Sabri said that 100 textbooks, destined for students in the 7th and 12th grade, were being held on the floor outside the compound. According to PA-owned Wafa news agency, the books were headed to three Palestinian schools, two high schools and a kindergarten.
Palestinian children r forced to endure the violation of their rights, their schools r often demolished, they live in fear of Occupation pic.twitter.com/S7y7pYW6tm
— Pal_st (@Stefaniafodd) August 17, 2017
Many items have been barred in preparation for the school year, from computer equipment to paper goods.
According to the school director, Israeli forces also raided and searched the classrooms when the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound was closed in mid-July in the wake of a deadly shooting at the site and an ensuing mass civil disobedience campaign and boycott against new Israeli security measures there.
In 2014, 250+ #Gaza schools were damaged and 7 destroyed. 3 years later, we insist: schools are #NotATarget https://t.co/opcL2HOW74 pic.twitter.com/wuCCqkau5Q
— OCHA oPt (Palestine) (@ochaopt) August 16, 2017
Earlier in the week, Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian kindergarten in a West Bank town, leaving the town with no facilities to educate their youngest students.
(Maan, PC, Social Media)
