Israel seals shut UN schools in Palestinian refugee camps
In Israel’s latest move towards the ethnic cleansing of beleaguered Palestinians, six schools set up by the United Nations in occupied East Jerusalem have been permanently closed. As reported by the New Arab plus agencies, the closures were finalized on May 8th following a 30-day notice period.
Hundreds of Palestinian children were dismissed when heavily armed Israeli officers forcibly entered three schools set up by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the Shuafat refugee camp. Three more schools in the Silwan, Sur Baher, and Wadi al-Joz neighborhoods were preemptively shut down due to police deployments following the closure orders on April 8th.
In total, over 800 Palestinian children have been left without an education, their only recourse being the overcrowded Israeli municipal institutions. According to Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Odeh, this reveals an “extremely problematic” situation as these schools teach an “Israeli-run curriculum that Palestinians say ignores and erases Palestinian identity.”
UNRWA has condemned the closures as not only unconscionable but illegal under international law. According to the United Nations, humanitarian organizations “must have full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access” to reach all civilians in need. The Israeli government’s actions reveal a deliberate denial of education and the Palestinian national narrative.
Israel has consistently tried to pin accusations of involvement in the Hamas-led attacks on October 7th, 2023, a charge vehemently denied by the UN. This has led to huge disruptions in UNRWA’s functional capacities.
The closures, for instance, come in the aftermath of Israel’s January ban on UNRWA’s operations within its borders. Israel has long maintained that the schools teach antisemitic content and spread anti-Israeli sentiments, which UNRWA denies.
The organization continues to provide humanitarian assistance to about 750,000 Palestinians, making it the main provider of education and health care to Palestinian refugees across East Jerusalem. The crackdown on UNRWA, and increasingly its headquarters in East Jerusalem, risks an indelible impact on refugees across the occupied West Bank.
The New Arab/ Agencies/ Maghrebi
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