Israel settler opens fire at Palestine primary school in West Bank

Israeli forces arrive after an armed Israeli Jewish settler opened gunfire at a Palestinian girls’ primary school in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 13 March 2022 [PalMissionUK /Twitter]

Israeli forces arrive after an armed Israeli Jewish settler opened gunfire at a Palestinian girls’ primary school in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, 13 March 2022 [PalMissionUK /Twitter]

An armed Israeli Jewish settler yesterday opened gunfire at a Palestinian girls’ primary school in the village of Tuqu in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, Safa news agency reported.

Bassam Jabr, who heads the Education Ministry in Bethlehem, said that an Israeli settler holding a rifle got off a bus loaded with settlers and opened gunfire towards the school, spreading fear among the students.

Jabr said that in the aftermath of the attack, hundreds of students were evacuated and classes were cancelled.

According to Safa, the settler left the area only to later return accompanied by a number of other settlers. They remained near the school for a while.

Violence and vandalism by Israeli settlers is commonplace in the occupied West Bank, with perpetrators rarely held to account by the Israeli occupation authorities.