ZCZC
BFF-64
ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-CONFLICT
Clashes after Israel closes Palestinian school: AFP
NABLUS, Palestinian Territories, Oct 15, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Clashes broke
out in the occupied West Bank on Monday after Israeli forces ordered the
closure of a Palestinian school, AFP correspondents said.
The Israeli army said the school had been the source of months of
violence, with stones thrown at a nearby major road used by its forces and
Israeli settlers.
The school serves the Palestinian villages of As-Sawiya and Al-Lubban
south of Nablus and is located on a main road through the West Bank.
The Israeli army on Sunday issued an order for the school to be closed,
but students tried to enter on Monday morning alongside some officials, AFP
journalists said.
Israeli soldiers and border police fired tear gas at protesters, including
into the school premises.
Four people were hit by rubber bullets, the Palestinian Red Crescent said,
with a number of others affected by tear gas.
AFP photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh was injured in the clashes.
Samer Ewass, a village official, said they were protesting the Israeli
decision.
“We reject this decision,” he said.
“These children have a right to education, they have a right to sit in
school like any child in any country.”
The Israeli army said the school “been the site of popular terror acts and
riots” in recent months.
“In response to the large number of popular terror acts endangering
Israeli and Palestinian civilians driving on the road… the area of the
school was declared a closed military zone.”
Israel seized control of the West Bank in a 1967 war and 400,000 of its
residents live in settlements there, in communities considered illegal by the
international community.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 2248 hrs