Education

The protracted conflict and the occupation have compromised the access to education in the occupied Palestinian territory. In the West Bank, access to education is undermined due to the detention of children, military operations and settler-related incidents; the shortage of physical infrastructure due to building restrictions in Area C and East Jerusalem; and movement restrictions such as the checkpoints and the Barrier. In the Gaza Strip, armed conflict and the resulting damage and destruction of facilities, the Israeli Blockade, and the internal Palestinian divide, have severely disrupted services, including the ability to conduct regular educational activities. Combined with their negative psychosocial effects, these factors have affected student wellbeing, performance and completion rates.

Articles, statements and press releases

Concern over conditions and violence against Palestinian children in detention

9 February 2016 |

Amid heightened violence in late 2015, the number of Palestinian children detained by the Israeli authorities spiked to the highest figure since March 2009: at the end of December, 428 Palestinian children were in the Israeli prison system. Some 80 per cent of these children were in pre-trial detention, the majority of them facing charges of throwing stones.

Humanitarian agencies salute the work of Human Rights Defenders in Hebron on the occasion of International Human Rights Day

10 December 2015 |

On the occasion of Human Rights Day, the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and Development Activities, Robert Piper and a group of UN and NGO leaders visited Hebron this week to see first-hand the situation of human rights defenders in Hebron, as well as the obstacles to Palestinian children’s right to an education in a safe environment.

Movement obstacles in East Jerusalem disrupt access to services, despite recent easing

8 December 2015 |

Ras al Amud neighbourhood, East Jerusalem, November 2015. Photo by OCHA

Following a decision adopted on 14 October 2015 by the Israeli Security Cabinet to address the wave of violence, Israeli forces began to block some of the main routes to and from Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem. Within a week, a total of 41 obstacles had been deployed, comprising 23 cement blocks, one earth mound and 17 checkpoints.

Overview of the repair and reconstruction of schools in Gaza

30 April 2015 |

During the 51-day war in Gaza, air strikes and ground incursions resulted in major damage to the education sector. Six government and private schools, eleven kindergartens and three higher education institutions were completely destroyed. Some 450 education facilities (176 government and private schools, 263 private kindergartens and 11 higher education institutions) sustained minor, partial, major or severe damage, resulting in a loss of access by children to quality education and safe learning environments. In addition, 83 UNRWA schools were damaged, all of which have been repaired.

Humanitarian Coordinator calls for children’s safe access to school in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem

26 February 2015 |

“Every child has the right to protected access to education. Israeli authorities must ensure that this right is fulfilled, and that those responsible for attacks against defenceless children are brought to account”.

Half a million Palestinians internally displaced as a result of hostilities

31 August 2014 |

IDPs in their way to a shelter, Ash Shuja’iyeh area, Gaza City, August 2014. Photo by OCHA

During the 50 days of hostilities, thousands of Palestinians fled their homes to take refuge with host families, in UNRWA schools, and in government and informal shelters. While the numbers fluctuated during the conflict, at various points approximately half a million Palestinians were internally displaced, constituting 28 per cent of the population. The largest exodus occurred from areas within three kilometres of the Gaza perimeter fence with Israel, declared by Israel as a buffer zone.