‘Gas the Arabs’ – Settlers Vandalize Girls School in Hebron

Palestine News Agency (WAFA) and International Solidarity Movement (ISM), WAFA and ISM, 28 April 2006

Settler graffiti on Qurtuba girls school, Hebron. (Ann Detwiler, ISM)

On Friday 28th April, settlers from Beit Hadassa colony, in Tel Rumeida, on the outskirts of the old city of Hebron, vandalized a school path at Qurtuba school which is used by local Palestinian children.

ISM said Friday in a press release that the path was being built with money from TIPH (Temporary International Presence in Hebron). The builders had just laid bricks along the path above Beit Hadassa colony.

At 2 pm on April 26 builders had stones thrown at them by children from Beit Hadassa. Shortly afterwards international Human Rights Workers (HRWs) saw an adult settler looking at the building work and making several calls on his mobile phone.

Between 6 and 7pm yesterday, says ISM, a group of 20 adults and children from Beit Hadassa climbed the steps to the school and began tearing up the bricks and throwing them down the steps.

The remains of a path to Qurtuba school, destroyed by settlers as Israeli soldiers failed to intervene. (WAFA)

Citizens said Israeli soldiers did try to intervene but did not stop the vandalism. Israeli Police also attended but no arrests were made.

A Palestinian family living behind Qurtuba school said that when the settlers approached the school they were frightened that they would attack them and they called their children inside the house.

Frequency and seriousness of attacks in Tel Rumeida has been increasing over the past weeks. The most serious attacks occur on shabbat. Last Saturday 30 settlers attacked a Palestinian shop on Tel Rumeida Street and assaulted a young Palestinian (see
www.palsolidarity.org/main/2006/04/23/settlers-attack). HRWs are afraid that more attacks will occur this Saturday and have written an Open Letter to the Police (see
www.palsolidarity.org/main/2006/04/26/open-letter-heb1/)