Israeli demolitions threaten schools and homes in Masafer Yatta

Students pledge to continue learning as demolitions in Masafer Yatta attack homes, schools, and their right to education.

Palestinian children stand on the rubble of the partially demolished Sha'ab al-Butum primary school in Masafer Yatta [Screen grab/Al Jazeera]

On Tuesday morning, 12-year-old Sundus al-Hamamdeh left her home in the Masafer Yatta village of Khirbet al-Fakhit, and went to school.

It was the third day of the new school year in the occupied West Bank.

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But when the sixth-grade student at al-Fakhit Secondary School returned from her classes, the house she had left behind was gone.

Israeli forces had carried out a large-scale demolition operation in Khirbet al-Fakhit, destroying homes, livestock shelters, water infrastructure, and solar-power installations.

For al-Hamamdeh, her house was more than four walls and a roof. It was her safe space, the place she came back to every day.

For children in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the spectre of demolition is always present.

Much of Masafer Yatta lies in Area C of the West Bank, where Israel has control over planning and construction. Israeli authorities justifies the demolition orders by saying that the structures were built without permits; Palestinians, backed by the United Nations, note that such permits are nearly impossible for them to obtain.

And it’s not just their homes that are under threat, but their schools.

On August 4, Israeli forces surrounded Shaab al-Butum school , according to Bassam Jabr, the director-general of education in Masafer Yatta.

An Israeli military bulldozer then demolished two rooms used by teachers and administrators, and a storage room.

The UN independently documented the demolition of the rooms, saying Israeli authorities had cited the lack of an Israeli-issued building permit.

Things could still get worse; the main school building remains under a demolition order.

Established in 2015, the school serves about 60 students from kindergarten through 11th grade. Its remote location makes transferring students to other schools particularly difficult, Jabr said.

Education officials have appealed to Israeli courts, and called on the United Nations and foreign governments to intervene.

But the schools remain under threat. Even as the Israeli military and settlers’ pogroms against Palestinians continue across the West Bank, Masafer Yatta is especially targeted.

The remote communities there have little ability to defend themselves and conditions are harsh. In addition, the Israeli military has designated large parts of the area a military firing zone, another justification for forcing out the Palestinian population.

Masafer Yatta’s schools are a central part of the effort to keep Palestinians here – ensuring that families do not have to travel far for their children to be educated. Palestinians argue that is why the schools have been particularly targeted.

Intisar Omar Abu Sabha, an administrative director at the Masafer Yatta Directorate of Education, says schools in the communities of Zif, ar-Rifaiyah, Umm Qussa, Umm al-Kheir, Jinba, Shaab al-Butum, Khirbet al-Daba, and al-Majaz are among those facing demolition orders.

In addition to the threats to their schools, students and teachers also have to navigate road closures, checkpoints, and the presence of settlers to reach their classrooms.

Abu Sabha said schools have also faced damage and settler incursions or harassment in and around their grounds. She describes a cycle in which children risk losing both their homes and their schools.

“Imagine a student who is at school, then returns home and finds their home demolished … and comes back the next day to find their school demolished,” she said.

Yasmeen Sallaq, a Palestinian lawyer, says the threat to the Masafer Yatta schools directly undermines children’s right to education.

But Sallaq says that Israeli restrictions on movement, military raids, arrests, displacement, and attacks affecting students and education workers make that right increasingly difficult to exercise.

“We face the demolition of schools every day, making the continuation of the educational process almost impossible,” Sallaq said.

At Zif Secondary School for Girls , headteacher Hanaa al-Salameen says about 250 students attend the school.

It first received a demolition notice in 2016. Years of legal proceedings followed, but an appeal against demolition was dismissed this year, with efforts continuing to obtain an interim injunction.

The uncertainty has already taken a toll. Some girls are experiencing fear and anxiety, while others have transferred to different schools, al-Salameen said.

“The school is not just a place for education,” she said. “This school is the students’ only outlet.”

She fears the school’s demolition could push some girls out of education altogether if alternative schools are too far away or require them to travel along unsafe roads.

At Zif, 10th-grade student Rabiha Yousef Jibril described the school’s importance.

“I am growing up in this school, and my dreams are growing with me day by day,” Jibril said, adding that while students fear its demolition, they insist they will continue to attend.

“Even if they demolish the school, we will continue to study, even under the trees,” she said. “Even if they confiscate the books, we will keep them in our hearts, as well as our minds.”

在马萨费尔亚塔的拆迁行动中，学生们誓言继续学习，因为拆迁行动袭击了他们的房屋、学校和受教育权。

巴勒斯坦儿童站在马萨费尔亚塔沙阿卜布图姆小学部分被拆毁的废墟上。[截图/半岛电视台]

周二早上，12 岁的桑杜斯·哈马姆德离开了她在希尔贝特·法赫特马萨费尔·亚塔村的家，去上学了。

这是被占领的西岸地区新学年的第三天。

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但当这位就读于法赫特中学六年级的学生放学回家时，她离开的房子已经不见了。

以色列军队在希尔贝特·法赫特进行了一次大规模的拆除行动，摧毁了房屋、牲畜棚、供水基础设施和太阳能发电设施。

对哈马姆德来说，她的房子不仅仅是四面墙和一个屋顶。那是她的避风港，是她每天都要回去的地方。

对于位于被占领的西岸希伯伦以南的马萨费尔亚塔的孩子们来说，拆迁的阴影始终笼罩着他们。

马萨费尔亚塔的大部分地区位于约旦河西岸C区，以色列对该地区的规划和建设拥有控制权。以色列当局以这些建筑未经许可建造为由，为其拆迁令辩护；而巴勒斯坦方面在联合国的支持下指出，他们几乎不可能获得此类许可。

不仅他们的家园受到威胁，他们的学校也面临威胁。

据马萨费尔亚塔教育局局长巴萨姆·贾布尔称，8月4日，以色列军队包围了沙阿卜·布图姆学校。

随后，一辆以色列军用推土机拆除了教师和管理人员使用的两间房间以及一间储藏室。

联合国独立记录了房间被拆除的情况，称以色列当局给出的理由是缺少以色列颁发的建筑许可证。

情况可能还会恶化；学校主教学楼仍处于拆除令之下。

贾布尔表示，这所学校成立于2015年，招收从幼儿园到11年级的约60名学生。由于地处偏远，学生转学到其他学校尤其困难。

教育官员已向以色列法院提起上诉，并呼吁联合国和外国政府进行干预。

但这些学校仍然面临威胁。尽管以色列军队和定居者在西岸各地对巴勒斯坦人的迫害仍在继续，但马萨费尔亚塔尤其成为攻击目标。

当地偏远社区几乎没有自卫能力，生活条件极其恶劣。此外，以色列军方已将该地区大片区域划为军事射击区，这又成为驱逐巴勒斯坦居民的又一借口。

马萨费尔·亚塔的学校是巴勒斯坦人留在这里的重要举措之一——确保巴勒斯坦家庭不必长途跋涉就能让孩子接受教育。巴勒斯坦人认为，这正是这些学校成为特别攻击目标的原因。

Masafer Yatta 教育局行政主任 Intisar Omar Abu Sabha 表示，Zif、ar-Rifaiyah、Umm Qussa、Umm al-Kheir、Jinba、Shaab al-Butum、Khirbet al-Daba 和 al-Majaz 社区的学校都面临拆除令。

除了学校面临的威胁外，学生和教师还必须克服道路封闭、检查站和定居者的存在才能到达教室。

阿布·萨巴表示，学校也面临着破坏、定居者入侵或骚扰的威胁，这些威胁不仅发生在学校内，还发生在周边地区。她描述了一种恶性循环：孩子们面临着失去家园，也失去学校的风险。

“想象一下，一个学生在学校上课，回家后发现家被夷为平地……第二天回到学校却发现学校也被夷为平地，”她说。

巴勒斯坦律师亚斯敏·萨拉克表示，马萨费尔·亚塔学校受到的威胁直接损害了儿童的受教育权。

但萨拉克表示，以色列对行动自由的限制、军事突袭、逮捕、驱逐以及对学生和教育工作者的袭击，使得行使这项权利变得越来越困难。

萨拉克说：“我们每天都面临着学校被拆毁的局面，这使得教育进程几乎无法继续进行。”

齐夫女子中学的校长哈娜·萨拉明表示，该校约有 250 名学生。

该建筑于 2016 年首次收到拆迁通知。随后进行了多年的法律诉讼，但今年针对拆迁的上诉被驳回，目前仍在努力争取临时禁令。

萨拉明表示，这种不确定性已经造成了影响。一些女孩感到恐惧和焦虑，而另一些女孩则转学了。

“这所学校不仅仅是学习的地方，”她说。“这所学校是学生们唯一的精神寄托。”

她担心，如果替代学校距离太远或需要她们沿着不安全的道路行驶，学校的拆除可能会使一些女孩彻底失学。

在 Zif，十年级学生 Rabiha Yousef Jibril 描述了学校的重要性。

“我在这所学校长大，我的梦想也与我一同成长，”吉布里尔说，并补充道，虽然学生们担心学校会被拆除，但他们坚持要继续上学。

“即使学校被拆毁，我们也会继续学习，哪怕是在树下，”她说。“即使书本被没收，我们也会把它们珍藏在心底。”