Israel Razes Illegally Built Schools, EU Protests

Israel tore down two Arab schools which were illegally constructed with funding from the European Union, which protested the action, AFP reported on Thursday.

On Monday, a kindergarten structure in a Bedouin community in eastern Yehudah was confiscated, and overnight Tuesday a small primary school was demolished in southern Yehudah.

COGAT, the Israeli agency that oversees civilian affairs in Yehudah and Shomron, explained in a statement to AFP that the buildings were built without the necessary permits.

The EU expressed “strong concern about the recent confiscations of Palestinian school structures undertaken by Israel in Bedouin communities” in Yehudah and Shomron.

“Every child has the right to safe access to education and states have an obligation to protect, respect and fulfill this right, by ensuring that schools are inviolable safe spaces for children,” it said in a statement.

Children are due to return to school from summer vacation next Wednesday.