The Prague Post - UN says Israel school closures in east Jerusalem 'assault on children'

EUR -
AED 4.123274
AFN 78.845557
ALL 97.596257
AMD 436.974451
ANG 2.02326
AOA 1027.1838
ARS 1248.909706
AUD 1.7531
AWG 2.023496
AZN 1.904973
BAM 1.943087
BBD 2.264376
BDT 136.254018
BGN 1.955818
BHD 0.423127
BIF 3336.236092
BMD 1.122605
BND 1.454157
BOB 7.749403
BRL 6.380212
BSD 1.121507
BTN 95.956053
BWP 15.196322
BYN 3.669572
BYR 22003.064713
BZD 2.252672
CAD 1.563194
CDF 3227.490444
CHF 0.932728
CLF 0.027547
CLP 1057.101308
CNY 8.111217
CNH 8.133119
COP 4773.508759
CRC 569.993659
CUC 1.122605
CUP 29.749042
CVE 109.552642
CZK 24.931981
DJF 199.509615
DKK 7.460807
DOP 65.931287
DZD 148.903709
EGP 56.83201
ERN 16.83908
ETB 151.16208
FJD 2.549101
FKP 0.841184
GBP 0.846703
GEL 3.092773
GGP 0.841184
GHS 14.803347
GIP 0.841184
GMD 80.266662
GNF 9711.849423
GTQ 8.627974
GYD 234.647216
HKD 8.726595
HNL 29.134555
HRK 7.536947
HTG 146.74255
HUF 405.666347
IDR 18575.41382
ILS 4.007319
IMP 0.841184
INR 96.579927
IQD 1469.146981
IRR 47275.71699
ISK 146.668232
JEP 0.841184
JMD 177.985528
JOD 0.796263
JPY 163.578751
KES 144.950604
KGS 98.172275
KHR 4490.699555
KMF 486.662581
KPW 1010.318113
KRW 1576.244573
KWD 0.344595
KYD 0.934639
KZT 579.189026
LAK 24236.619088
LBP 100481.044293
LKR 335.54618
LRD 224.295531
LSL 20.405993
LTL 3.314762
LVL 0.679053
LYD 6.125172
MAD 10.360035
MDL 19.316535
MGA 5027.354783
MKD 61.482574
MMK 2356.987398
MNT 4012.266015
MOP 8.978061
MRU 44.453361
MUR 50.865004
MVR 17.298932
MWK 1944.784115
MXN 21.969454
MYR 4.805865
MZN 71.731512
NAD 20.405813
NGN 1805.78948
NIO 41.272
NOK 11.714016
NPR 153.525608
NZD 1.899984
OMR 0.432196
PAB 1.121517
PEN 4.09789
PGK 4.653739
PHP 62.522938
PKR 315.626615
PLN 4.253419
PYG 8958.74642
QAR 4.088018
RON 5.117621
RSD 116.46271
RUB 92.614528
RWF 1604.892896
SAR 4.210489
SBD 9.374707
SCR 16.675726
SDG 674.124197
SEK 10.912066
SGD 1.459791
SHP 0.882192
SLE 25.516701
SLL 23540.4545
SOS 640.938057
SRD 40.702289
STD 23235.664058
SVC 9.81319
SYP 14595.977591
SZL 20.394568
THB 37.136347
TJS 11.580334
TMT 3.940345
TND 3.368099
TOP 2.62925
TRY 43.368383
TTD 7.617535
TWD 33.986921
TZS 3036.647304
UAH 46.604061
UGX 4107.328987
USD 1.122605
UYU 46.843733
UZS 14477.346287
VES 102.267343
VND 29146.763809
VUV 135.432547
WST 2.974563
XAF 651.704825
XAG 0.034553
XAU 0.000339
XCD 3.033897
XDR 0.80676
XOF 651.719244
XPF 119.331742
YER 274.474652
ZAR 20.436189
ZMK 10104.793732
ZMW 29.745785
ZWL 361.478462
  • NGG

    -2.3680

    70.202

    -3.37%

  • RBGPF

    2.8600

    65.86

    +4.34%

  • SCS

    0.5450

    10.455

    +5.21%

  • GSK

    -0.2700

    36.9

    -0.73%

  • BCC

    2.7500

    89.85

    +3.06%

  • RELX

    -0.5300

    54.34

    -0.98%

  • BTI

    -0.9100

    43.54

    -2.09%

  • CMSC

    0.0400

    22.2

    +0.18%

  • RIO

    -0.9200

    59.1

    -1.56%

  • RYCEF

    0.5000

    10.67

    +4.69%

  • AZN

    -2.6250

    67.445

    -3.89%

  • JRI

    -0.0410

    12.985

    -0.32%

  • BCE

    1.2150

    22.465

    +5.41%

  • VOD

    -0.1350

    9.265

    -1.46%

  • BP

    0.4250

    28.555

    +1.49%

  • CMSD

    -0.0500

    22.36

    -0.22%

UN says Israel school closures in east Jerusalem 'assault on children'
UN says Israel school closures in east Jerusalem 'assault on children' / Photo: AHMAD GHARABLI - AFP

UN says Israel school closures in east Jerusalem 'assault on children'

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees on Thursday decried an "assault on children" after Israel closed all six of its schools in annexed east Jerusalem, months after an Israeli ban on its activities took effect.

Text size:

"Storming schools & forcing them shut is a blatant disregard of international law", UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini posted on X, describing the move as "An assault on children. An assault on education".

UNRWA spokesman Jonathan Fowler told AFP that Israeli forces "closed six United Nations schools in annexed east Jerusalem on Thursday, posting closure orders on the six buildings and forcibly entering three of the six schools".

An AFP photographer present at two of the schools in the Shuafat refugee camp reported that Israeli forces entered the premises and posted a closure notice stating the schools were operating without "authorisation".

The children had to leave the premises, with many departing in tears. Several young pupils, some visibly moved and others shocked, hugged in front of the school before they left.

UNRWA said one of its staff members was detained.

"From May 8, 2025, it will be prohibited to operate educational institutions, or employ teachers, teaching staff or any other staff, and it will be forbidden to accommodate students or allow the entry of students into this institution," the closure order in Hebrew read.

UNRWA's director in the West Bank, Roland Friedrich, told AFP that "heavily armed" forces surrounded the three UNRWA schools in Shuafat camp at 9:00 am.

Friedrich added that 550 pupils aged six to 15 were present when the closure was enforced, calling it "a traumatising experience for young children who are at immediate risk of losing their access to education."

Friedrich said police were deployed in the area around three separate schools in other parts of east Jerusalem, which has been annexed by Israel since 1967.

UNRWA said that the school year for 800 children had "been ended by force".

- 'Violation of right to education' -

The Palestinian Authority condemned the move in a statement to AFP, calling it a "violation of children's right to education".

In a statement, its education ministry called the closures a "crime" and urged international institutions "to assume their responsibilities and defend the right of refugee children to a free and safe education".

UNRWA has provided support for Palestinian refugees around the Middle East for more than 70 years, but has long clashed with Israeli officials, who have repeatedly accused it of undermining the country's security.

At the end of January, Israeli legislation came into force banning the agency's activities. Due to the annexation, the law applies to east Jerusalem but not to the rest of the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.

Contact between it and Israeli officials is also forbidden.

Israel has accused UNRWA of providing cover for Hamas militants, claiming that some of the agency's employees took part in Hamas's October 7, 2023 assault on Israel which sparked the war in Gaza.

A series of investigations found some "neutrality-related issues" at UNRWA, but stressed Israel had not provided conclusive evidence for its headline allegation.

Nevertheless, the UN said in August that nine staff working for UNRWA would be sacked because they may have been involved in the attacks.

Adalah, an Israeli group defending the rights of the Arab minority, reported that Israeli police were raiding six UNRWA-run schools in east Jerusalem.

The organisation filed a petition with Israel's Supreme Court in mid-January arguing the new legislation against UNRWA violated "fundamental human rights and Israel's obligations under international law".

The Supreme Court rejected its request for the legislation to be suspended.

In April, Adalah demanded a halt to the closure orders on UNRWA-run schools at the Supreme Court.

The state responded that the Jerusalem municipality was offering alternative schooling and the court rejected the NGO's motion.

Adalah called the proposed alternatives "wholly inadequate".

The United Nations considers the annexation of Jerusalem's eastern sector illegal.

A.Stransky--TPP