The Palestinian Ministry of Education said that since the start of Israel’s war against the Gaza Strip in October 2023, Israel has killed more than 800 Palestinian teachers and injured more than 3,300 others. This was reported by Anadolu Agency ahead of World Teachers’ Day, observed on October 5.
According to the ministry, more than 170 teachers remain in detention under harsh conditions. The ministry also said that educators in the occupied Palestinian territories face movement restrictions and harassment at hundreds of checkpoints.
The problems, according to the ministry, are particularly acute in Masafer Yatta south of Hebron, the village of al-Mughayyir in the central West Bank, the Jordan Valley, and areas of Area C. Area C makes up about 60% of the West Bank and is under full Israeli control in accordance with the division provided for by the 1995 Oslo II Accord.
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The Palestinian ministry also linked teachers’ situation to financial difficulties caused by Israel’s withholding of Palestinian tax revenues. These are funds that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority from imported goods under the 1994 Paris Protocol.
According to the agency, Israel began deducting amounts from these revenues in 2019 and later stopped transferring them. Such revenues account for approximately 56% of Palestine’s total public revenues. The ministry called on the UN, the international community, educational and human rights organizations to take urgent action to protect students and education workers, and on trade unions to seek the release of detained educators and the payment of withheld funds owed to educators.
Source: UA
