Israeli police closed two United Nations schools in Chouafat on Thursday morning, a journalist from the France-Presse (AFP) reported. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which holds these establishments, confirmed the closure by Israel of its three schools in this Palestinian refugee camp in East Jerusalem-the eastern part of the city, occupied and annexed by Israel since 1967.
The Israeli police expelled the children present on the scene and plastered an order of closure explaining that the schools operated illegally in the absence of” authorisation “noted the AFP photographer.
UNRWA director in the West Bank, Roland Friedrich, told AFP that forces “Heavily armed” surrounded these schools on Thursday morning. He added that 550 students, aged 6 to 15, were present when the closure was applied, qualifying the event as “Traumatic for young children who may immediately lose access to education”.
The Palestinian Authority, located in Ramallah, sentenced this decision in a declaration to AFP, calling it as “Violation of children’s right to education”.
Israel has promulgated a law prohibiting UNRWA from operating on Israeli soil, after having accused some members of the agency staff of having participated in the attacks of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, 2023, at the origin of the war in the Gaza Strip. According to independent surveys, Israel has not provided evidence of these allegations.
