Israel settlers set fire to Palestinian primary school, attack female employee

Israeli settlers set fire to a Palestinian primary school located south of Hebron, resulting in the destruction of three classrooms, reported Wafa news agency.

According to a local source in the village of Zanota, a group of settlers burned down three classrooms at Zanota Mixed Elementary School, which marked the second arson attempt on the school over the past month.

Moreover, there have been reports of settlers assaulting and physically attacking a Palestinian female school employee.

Recent escalations in attacks by settlers, backed by Israeli occupation forces, on village residents and their property have resulted in the forced displacement of 36 families, Wafa reported.

The Palestinian Ministry of Education denounced the school arson, labelling it as another crime in the ongoing series of offences committed by the occupation and settlers against educational institutions across the country.

The ministry further noted that the assault on a primary school, occurring just one day after the observance of World Children’s Day, reveals the discriminatory nature of the Israeli occupation and its aim of instilling fear among students and children.

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It appealed to international human rights institutions and organisations dedicated to safeguarding children’s rights to urgently intervene and bring an end to these violations.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. Human rights abuses against the Palestinians and breaches of international law are common, say human rights organisations.

Since 7 October, OCHA has recorded 271 settler attacks against Palestinians, resulting in Palestinian casualties, damage to Palestinian-owned property, or both. This reflects a daily average of almost six incidents, compared with three since the beginning of the year. Over one-third of these incidents included threats with firearms, including shootings. In nearly half of all incidents, Israeli forces were either accompanying or actively supporting the attackers, UN OCHA said.