Israeli closures keep 80,000 Palestinian students out of school
The General Union of Palestinian Teachers says 537 families were displaced and 220 schools were disrupted in Hebron's central education district.
Nearly 80,000 Palestinian students missed school last week because of Israeli military closures around Hebron in the occupied West Bank, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported on Sunday.
The General Union of Palestinian Teachers said in a statement carried by the Palestinian news agency WAFA that the closures had forced 537 families from their homes and disrupted 220 public, private and UN-run schools in the central Hebron education district.
Displaced pupils have lost access to their textbooks and quiet places to study, the union said, while teachers have had trouble reaching their schools.
On Sunday, Israeli forces held 10 teachers from Jinba Basic Mixed School for several hours on Khallat al-Dabaa Road in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, and impounded their vehicle, leaving students waiting for them, the union said.
The union condemned the road closures and the detentions, describing them as an attack on students' right to learn and on people's lives and dignity.
It urged education unions worldwide to press their governments to reopen routes to schools and protect students and teachers.
The union also asked Education International, a global federation of education unions, to lobby diplomatically and send a delegation to Hebron and Masafer Yatta to record the impact.
The Israeli operation in the area entered its 10th consecutive day on Sunday, displacing or affecting more than 3,300 Palestinians, particularly in the al-Jalda and Ain Deir Bahha areas.
Fifteen homes and other structures have been demolished during the operation, while Israeli troops have sealed off Hebron and surrounding villages and turned seized homes into military posts.