Israel Expansion, Occupation And Separation Wall

Ministry Of Education & Higher Education

n o i s n a Exp and

l l a W n tio

a x e n n A &

its impact on

The Educational Process

International & Public Relations

2004

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INTRODUCTION The Israeli authorities began construction of the separation wall in June 2002. Some call it the Apartheid Wall, others call it the New Berlin Wall, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) has termed it “the Annexation Wall.” According to a study by the Jerusalem-based United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the wall in the Jerusalem area will disrupt Palestinians’ mobility, their access to education and health services, sources of livelihood, and all their basic existential needs that the Fourth Geneva Convention is intended to protect and ensure. OC HA’s opposition to the barrier wall or fence is based on its route and its infringement of these basic human rights. The structure is planned to stretch 680 to 1000 kilometres in length, and it varies in different areas. In some areas, it consists of layers of razor wire, military patrol roads, sand paths to trace footprints, trenches, surveillance cameras, a three-metre high electric fence, and it is 60 to 150 metres wide that include a buffer zone of 30 to 100 metres beside the Wall; and Palestinians are prohibited from entering these zones. In other areas it consists of concrete cement wall, electric fences, trenches, cameras, sensors, gates, and is patrolled by the Israeli military. In urban areas such as Qalqilya and Jerusalem, the Wall is constructed of eight-metre high concrete slabs with watchtowers, with buffers zone and a road along the structure. The wall is twice as high as the historic Berlin Wall. Israel claims that the Wall is necessary for the security of Israelis within the Green Line, but the route of the Wall exposes the falsehood of this claim. The real purpose of the Wall is to annex large amounts of the West Bank to insure that more than 50 Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories, in which the majority of Israeli Jewish settlers live, and which are illegal under international law, will be on the Israeli side. The Wall eventually will extend into the Jordan Valley and join with the Western section, to form two enclosed Palestinian areas to the north and south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be completely isolated from the rest of the West Bank. It is estimated that at least 45% of the West Bank will be de facto annexed by the wall.

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Over 500,000 Palestinians will be trapped between the Wall and the Green Line (including Jerusalem), according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), thus isolating them from their own communities; 250,000 Palestinians in the vicinity of Jerusalem will be trapped in disconnected and isolated enclaves between the Green Line and the Wall.

Amnesty International, in a 19 February 2004 press release, called on Israel to immediately dismantle the sections already built inside the West Bank and halt the construction of the wall and related infrastructure inside the Occupied Territories. The UN General Assembly has also called on the Israeli authorities to “stop and reverse the construction of the Wall.” Kieran Prendergast, United Nations Undersecretary General for Political Affairs, told the Security Council on Wednesday, 23 June 2004, that 3,437 Palestinians have been killed, and 33,770 have been wounded since September 2000.

THE WALL’S IMPACT ON THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS The Wall severely impacts the daily lives and movement of all Palestinians. In some areas, Palestinians will have to apply for permits from the Israeli military to travel to their educational institutions, jobs, medical clinics, religious sites, markets, or to visit relatives living across the Wall but within the OPT. It is adding more difficulties to those faced by the educational system and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Many students and teachers are prevented from reaching their schools. Students are deprived of their right to education, especially those who live in communities that have no schools and used to travel to other communities’ schools. Teachers are often prevented from reaching their schools, and held for hours at checkpoints or wall gates. This happens regularly at Barta’a gate in the Jenin area, and in the villages of Ras Tera and Dhaba’a in Qalqilya area, for instance. Female and male teachers are regularly insulted, abused, and subjected to body searches when they try to get to their schools on the other side of the Wall. All these Israeli policies cause disruption of the educational process. School schedules are interrupted, students, and teachers’ attendance rate is lower, and students spend more time traveling to and from the schools than they spend learning in the classrooms. Such arbitrary and racist policies cause enormous disruptions in the educational system as a result of delays or prevention of student and teachers from reaching their institutions. The impact on the schools can include any or all of the following consequences: 1. The absence of teachers and the inability to provide substitute teachers cause the students to leave school earlier. 2. The disruptions usually cause the students and teachers not to complete the curriculum assignment for the year, and a large part of the textbook is never studied, especially in the final secondary school-grades. 3. Canceling of the extra-curricular informal activities such as after-school sports activities, field trips, and summer camps. 4. Inability of school employees from the district offices to reach their district schools causes sharp decline in organization and coordination between the schools and the districts.

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AREAS DIRECTLY AFFLICTED BY THE WALL Jenin

In the Jenin area, 5 population centers were isolated in the first phase of the Wall construction: Barta’a Sharqieh, Um Al-Rehan, Khirbet Abdallah Alyounes, Khirbet Thahr Al-Maleh, and Khirbet Barta’a. Their total population is 4100 people, have 4 schools that include 890 students. Seventy-five of the students from these areas are forced to travel to other areas to continue their higher grades education. Eight teachers where forced to relocate outside these communities, and 18 where forced to relocates inside, to avoid going through the gates.

Table 1: e number of school students and teachers forced to cross the Wall to and from the five population centers isolated from Jenin area by the Wall. Community

Barta’a Sharqieh Um Al≠Rehan Khirbet Abdallah Alyounes Khirbet ahr Al≠ Maleh Khirbet Barta’a

Schools

No. of Students Teachers Teachers Students Out In Out

Barta’a Secondary/ Boys Barta’a Secondary/ Girls Um Al-Rehan Basic/Co-Ed

345

362

15

10

4

98

13

5

2

X

X

30

X

1

X

X

17

X

X

Al Farouq Basic

85

X

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I addition to the five Jenin communities affected by the first phase of the Wall construction, 13 more have been totally affected, and 11 partially, in Jenin area by completion of the second phase. The number of students isolated in these communities is around 7340, and 125 teachers, whose movement will be severely restricted; and additional 75 students who are forced to drop-out of school due to their inability to reach their schools.

Table 2: Number of teachers forced to cross the Wall to and from 13 populated centers, and 24 schools, isolated by the second phase of the Wall construction in Jenin area. Community Arranah Jalameh Arbouneh

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Deir Ghazal

Schools

Students

Arraneh/Boys Arraneh/Girls Jalameh/Boys Jalameh/Girls Arbouneh/Co-Ed Deir Ghazal/Boys Deir Ghazal/Girls

270 284 358 291 123 143 84

Teachers In Teachers Out 4 8 4 5 0 3 3

0 0 1 4 0 0 0

Faqou’ah Beit Qad Jalabon Deir Abu Di’ef A’aba Um Tout Al Mughir Jalqamsoun Arab Sa’aideh

Faqou’ah/Boys Faqou’ah/Girls Beit Qad/Boys Beit Qad/Girls Jalabon/Boys Jalabon/Girls Deir Abu Di’ef/Boys Deir Abu Di’ef/Girls A’aba/Co-Ed Um Tout/Boys Um Tout/Girls Al Mughir/Boys Al Mughir/Girls Jalqamsoun/Boys Jalqamsoun/Girls Rummaneh/Boys Rummaneh/Girls

507 508 92 181 310 272 749 766 198 131 89 292 309 360 310 441 280

0 10 1 6 4 0 3 21 7 0 2 1 1 11 10 0 0

3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 2 1 0 1

Tulkarm In Tulkarem area, 4 population centers were cut off by the Apartheid Wall: Nazlet Eassa, Baqa Sharqieh, Nazlet Abu Naar, and Khirbet Jubara. They contain 6500 residents, 10 schools with 1728 students. Around 61 students from these areas are forced to travel into other areas to continue their education. There are 20 teachers who have to travel across the Wall to teach in other areas, and 53 teachers have to travel into these communities to teach in their schools. 54 students come from Jubara village to study in Al-Rass and Kufr Sur schools, they endure the usual travel restrictions and Israeli military cruelty in both directions, and at times they are prevented from reaching their destination.

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Table 3: Number of students and teachers forced to cross the Wall to and from five communities separated from the Tulkarm area by the Wall. No. of Students Teachers Teachers Community Schools Students Out In Out Nazlit Issa

Baqa Sharqieh Nazlit Abu Nar Khirbet Jbara

Nazlit Issa Secondary/Boys

329

Nazlit Issa Secondary/Girls

328

Baqa Sharqieh Basic/Boys

389

Baqa Sharqieh Basic/Girls

244

Baqa Sharqieh Secondary/Boys

208

Baqa Sharqieh Secondary/Girls

377

X X

X

29

3

X

54

13

X

61

X

X

X

61

X

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Qalqilya

The Situation in Qalqilya area is not different from that of Jenin and Tulkarem, three population centers were isolated: Ras Tera, Khirbet Dhaba’a and Arab Al Ramadanien Aljanoubi, with a combined

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population of 700 people, and one school for Ras Tera and Khirbet Dhaba’a that has 60 students from Khirbet Dhaba’a and 73 from Ras Tera. Also, around 260 students leave these communities to study in higher grade schools in neighboring communities. Five teachers have to travel outside the Wall to teach in other areas, and eight teachers have to travel into these small communities to teach in their schools.

Table 4: Number of students and teachers forced to cross the Wall to and from three communities separated from the Qalqilya area by the Wall. Community Ras Tera Khirbet Dhaba’a Arab Al Ramadanien Aljanoubi

School Dhaba’a & Ras Tera Co-Ed X

Students

Students Teachers Teachers In Out Out

60

95

X

2

73

90

8

3

X

75

X

X

In Qalqilya, Azzoun Atmeh, Wadi Al Rasha, and Arab Abu Fardah ended up on the other side of the Wall, isolated from the Qalqilya area. As a result, 105 students and 39 teachers will not be able to reach their schools in Azzoun Atmeh; and 47 students of Wadi Al Rasha, and Arab Abu Fardah, will be unable to reach their schools outside their isolated communities.

Jerusalem

Construction of the Wall in the Jerusalem surrounding communities will also have enormous impact on access to education, at different levels, on both students and teachers. It will hinder the operations of the Palestinian Public schools, UNRWA schools, and Private schools. Ten public (government) schools in three communities in Abu-Dis, Azaryeh, and Sawahreh Asharqieh, with a combined student population of 4035 will be affected by the wall construction. 105 students will end up behind the wall barrier, and additional 228 students will not be able to reach their schools in these areas. The barrier will also block access of 42 teachers to these communities, in addition to 85 who used to come from other communities. According to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (ANRWA), 14 of their schools could be affected when the Wall construction is completed, 10 of them will end up outside the barrier, and 4 will be inside. 74 UNRWA teachers and 190 students will have to exit the barrier in order to reach their schools; 12 teachers and 70 students will have to enter into the City through the barrier, because there residence will end up on the wrong side of the Wall. Therefore, UNRWA statistics in the relevant schools reveals a total of 86 UNRWA teachers and 260 UNRWA students will be affected by the barrier in their daily movement.

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At Jerusalem University in Abu-Dis

almost one third (60 acres) of its total land area (210 acres) will be annexed by the Israeli Wall construction. The lost land area is currently used as football and volley ball fields, and for other potential expansion projects. Many of the University students and teachers have to find rental housing in the local community, to avoid restrictions and travel difficulties, or had to move to institutions back in their own communities, disrupting their lives and plans, as well as the University’s attendance and operations. Estimated cost of losses caused by the Wall construction is about $5 million, in addition to inability to carry out the planned construction of the $8 million sports complex and stadium, and a swimming pool. Damage and destruction to the university property by Israeli bulldozers also is estimated at $100 thousand. The Wall also caused high tension and frustration among the students due to the military controls imposed on their mobility, which led to student protest and consequent arrest of over 60 students, and the killing of one female student, Hind Suleiman Sharateha, on 2 December 2003.

The environmental consequences for the Palestinian living close to the wall are nothing short of horrific, due to its massive structure, its height, destruction of property, and the machinery brought in for its construction.

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In A-Ram Community, north of Jerusalem and just south of Ramallah, for instance, a new section of the wall is being built. A-Ram has some 20,000 school students, only 5,000 of those are enrolled in local schools, and 15,000 students commute each morning to schools in Jerusalem. When the wall is

completed they will have to travel northward along the east side of the wall in the middle of the main Jerusalem-Ramallah road to the Qalandyeh checkpoint, cross over to the west side of the wall, then head back southward to enter into Jerusalem.

Bethlehem According to projections, Israeli plans for the Wall in the Bethlehem area will affect 14 schools, and will impact life in the villages of Nahalin, Husan, Batteer, Wadi Foukin, Jubah, Walajeh, Nu’man, and al Khas. The schools have a combined student population of 5219, of those students 111 will have to travel into these communities to their schools, while 315 students will be forced to go out, exiting through the Wall, and 140 teachers will need to enter through the wall into their schools. Many new schools will be needed to cope with such impending disasters for students and teachers. To the north of Jerusalem, the wall is being built in the middle of the main Jerusalem-Ramallah road. According to Danny Rubinstein, June 28, 2004, report in Haaretz Israeli newspaper, when the wall construction is completed, “several large schools are located along the road to Jerusalem: the small, private Al-Iman School, the Lutheran church’s vocational school, AlUmmah College operated by the Waqf, the Dar Alyatim vocational school, and the Rosary Convent’s girls’ school. Three of these schools are within the territory surrounded by the fence; two will be left outside it.” Students who live within Jerusalem, and those who live outside the City limits, will have to across the barrier daily to their school and back.

Table 5: Number of students and teachers forced to cross the Wall to and from their schools separated from five governorates already affected by the Apartheid Wall. Governorate

Community

School

Jenin

Al Aqaba

Al Aqaba Basic/ Boys Azzoun Beit Amin

Azzou Atmeh Qalqilyeh

No. of Students Students Teachers Teachers Students In Out In Out 61

58

218

89

Azzoun Atmeh

16

5 4

4

X

16

2

23

X

Wadi Rasha

X

X

X

22

X

X

Arab AbuFardeh

X

X

X

15

X

X

9

Abu-Dis

Jerusalem Vicinity

Ezaryeh

Sawahreh Sharqieh Bethlehem

Al Nu’man

Abu-Dis Sec/ boys Abu-Dis Sec/ Girls

838

6

68

4

8

360

10

46

11

10

Abu-Dis/Boys

233

2

5

1

X

Y. Khatib/ Girls

615

41

2

9

2

Ezaryeh/Boys

295

11

12

3

11

Ezaryeh?Girls

232

2

X

X

5

Masharie’/ Boys

386

5

16

4

13

Masharie’/ Girls

235

17

77

2

11

Sawahreh Sharqieh/Girls Sawahreh Sharqieh/Boys Al Nu’man & Private

474

11

X

5

13

367

X

2

3

12

67

X

16

X

X

Ramallah and Al Beireh The Apartheid Wall being constructed around Ramallah and Al Beireh area will isolate Al Tiereh/Beit ‘Our Attahta for boys and girls school. The school will be surrounded by the Wall and the Israeli colony of Horon from three sides. From the fourth (south) side, it will be blocked by the Israeli (Jews-only) road No. 443, which will cause disruption in students’ travel to and from the school, and prevent any possibility of expansion for sports fields or open space recreation. The Israeli military even prevented the school from building a clinic for the school. This particular basic school has 443 students who come from the Al Tiereh and Beit ‘Our Attahta communities, and it is right next to an Israeli military training camp. As the construction continues and the Israeli intentions become more apparent, the Ramallah area will feel the Wall’s devastating impact on the school system, the students’ and teachers’ mobility, and on the schools operations.

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Conclusion The Apartheid Wall is just one aspect of the destruction and brutality of the Apartheid system of the Israeli occupation. The military occupation in general has had a huge impact on Palestinian society in general, and on Palestinian education in particular. Since the beginning of the current uprising (intifada), 29 September 2000, over 480 school students, 196 college students, 31 school employees, have been killed. Over 3231 school student have been injured, and 608 jailed. Since the beginning of the current school-year on 1 September 2003, the Israelis have killed over 80 school students, injured about 200, and 320 are in Israeli prisons. Not only students and teachers face restrictions on their travel to and from their schools, the movement and distribution of materials like school textbooks which should reach the schools at the beginning of each school-year is hindered by the military. The Principal of a high school like Mohammed Shahin of Ras a-Tira, for instance, was forced to use donkeys to bring textbooks from Qalqilya because all the roads were blocked by the barrier.

Table 6: Number of Palestinians killed by Israelis between 28 September 2000 and 22 May 2004, according to the Palestine Monitor. 1 Age Distribution

Number

Percentage

15 yrs old or younger 16 ≠ 18 yrs 19 ≠ 29 yrs 30 ≠ 39 yrs 40 ≠ 49 yrs 50´ years Unknown Total

385 12.4 339 10.9 1497 48.3 415 13.4 153 4.9 179 5.8 130 4.2 3,098 100 According to the above table children under age 18, mostly students, constitute 724 or 23.3% of the total victims killed by the occupation forces. Finally, according to the international organization Stop the Wall Campaign, “the Apartheid Wall is condensing all the crimes of Israeli occupation into one project, and It sums up the Wall’s impact on the lives of the Palestinian people in following ways: * The Wall condemns an entire population to open-air prisons, restricting free movement and stifling all forms of productive economy; * The Wall threatens the livelihood and existence of over 300,000 Palestinians by separating them from their land, resources, families, schools, medical centers and livelihoods, imposing conditions in which they are forced to abandon their cities and villages, thus becoming part of the growing number of Palestinian refugees; * The Wall illegally confiscates land, valuable underground water aquifers and other earthly resources; * The Wall is a clear continuation of Israel’s racist Apartheid policy of land annexation, dispossession and expulsion of the Palestinian people; * The Wall will put an end to a viable two-state solution and will lock Palestinians into ghettos or bantustans throughout historic Palestine, imposing an Apartheid system of extreme magnitude.

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(Footnotes) Due to the long invasion in April 2002 and the prolonged curfews, at least 75 persons are unaccounted for. The Israeli military has a habit of holding bodies of some killed Palestinians for a long period of time. And During the April 2002 invasion of Jenin for instance, it was reported that the Israeli military had secretly buried a number of its victims to hide the crimes. All statistics are therefore provisional and could be able updated as more accurate information is available. For more details go to: http//www.palestinemonitor.org/new_web/palestinian_kil

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